What changes await European research and innovation policy in the next two years?

Will the legislation help connect science with industry more effectively? And what role does AI play in these changes?

With the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2026 comes a series of legislation and initiatives from the European Commission in which it is easy to get lost. These are proposals related to science and research and, increasingly, also to innovation, which, with the new cabinet of the European Commission, are defining a larger space for themselves, under the guise of the word competitiveness. The evolving EU environment is slowly but surely being reflected in the Czech system, which has long struggled with the transfer of technology and knowledge (it has a so-called innovation gap ). Let us therefore take a closer look at the outlook for selected activities of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council for 2026 and 2027.

The steps being prepared include the ERA Act, which is intended to give the European Research Area a solid legal framework, as well as the Scaleup Europe fund, the European Innovation Act and the 28th regime , which aim to facilitate the operation of companies in the EU internal market. The Commission Recommendation on attracting and retaining talent for innovation in Europe is also essential from the perspective of the future of science and research. The development of artificial intelligence , which is moving forward uncompromisingly, and not only in Europe, is also an important aspect  . Here, the Commission is looking for a way between regulating AI and at the same time supporting its development. We can find a similar debate on the role of the EIC and the emphasis on projects using dual-use technologies . At the same time, we expect clarification of the future of the EIT, whose Knowledge and Innovation Community is trying to justify its future in the long term. It can definitely be said that the following months will be crucial, as the form of the above-mentioned instruments, initiatives and legislation will be specified, which will determine the path of science, research and innovation (R&D&I) for the next decade.

News in artificial intelligence

In the field of artificial intelligence, European policy is moving from approving rules to actually implementing them. Following the adoption of the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the focus is now on how the new rules will work in practice. Implementing regulations, technical standards and supervisory authorities are being prepared at Member State level. The European Commission has also established the European Artificial Intelligence Office (AI Office). However, regulation is not the only issue. Artificial intelligence is becoming part of a wider debate on investments and the future shape of the 10th Framework Programme (FP10) and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF).

In November 2025, the RAISE (Resource for AI Science in Europe) initiative was launched , which aims to strengthen the use of artificial intelligence directly in scientific work. Its aim is to better connect research infrastructures, data and computing capacities so that AI becomes a common tool across disciplines. In this regard, the European high-performance computing centers associated in the European EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) play a key role. In parallel, artificial intelligence factories (AI Factories) are also being built - we have one of them in Ostrava, and there are discussions about building so-called artificial intelligence gigafactories, i.e. large-scale computing centers designed for training and operating large AI models in the European environment, with the Czech Republic, together with Poland, likely to bid for one of these, its location should be in Jílovište near Prague.

Together with the AI ​​in Science and Apply AI initiatives, which are intended to support researchers and the wider use of AI in businesses, this is an effort to strengthen European AI capacities at a time when the most advanced systems are being developed mainly outside the European Union.

News in the area of ​​Widening

As part of the preparations for FP10, which will follow on from the current Horizon Europe programme, and the ECF, a debate is also opening on Widening, or widening participation and spreading excellence. In the current Horizon Europe programme, Widening forms a separate part focused on supporting countries with lower participation in the framework programmes, through instruments such as Teaming for Excellence, Twinning or ERA Chairs. It also includes the reform and strengthening of the European research and innovation system within the European Research Area (ERA). In recent years, the Commission has strengthened the coordination of these activities through the ERA Policy Agenda 2025-2027 and the ERA Monitoring Mechanism . The emphasis is on the reform of research evaluation (also due to the increased use of AI), open science and researcher mobility.

According to the current FP10 proposal, however, the pillar and horizontal structure of the program is to change and Widening and ERA are to get their space in the newly emerging IV. pillar together with scientific and technological infrastructures. At the same time, the Widening countries should be divided into two groups, namely the so-called Widening group (where the Czech Republic remains) and the so-called Transition countries. The Commission hopes that these new categories will help to distinguish between countries that still need strong support and countries that are moving towards better results more quickly.

European Innovation Council (EIC) and dual-use research

In 2026, two parallel shifts are clearly emerging for the European Innovation Council (EIC). Firstly, the EIC is testing a new way of supporting breakthrough technologies inspired by American agencies such as ARPA ( Advanced Research Projects Agency). This is  an American model of a public agency funding high-risk and high-benefit research through the pilot call Advanced Innovation Challenges (the first call was very popular, only 3% of projects were successful). This format is to be more targeted, more managed and portfolio-based, i.e. with greater emphasis on projects actually moving from an ambitious idea to a proven technology and use in practice. This type of approach is often mentioned in the debate on the future FP10 as one of the possible ways to accelerate the transfer of cutting-edge research into applications in the EU.

Secondly, the EIC Work Programme for 2026 shows a shift towards technologies with security overlap, in particular dual-use innovations. However, the document explicitly states that the specific extension of support in the EIC Accelerator is to come through a planned amendment to the Work Programme, and only subject to the adoption of the necessary legislative changes. In practice, this is more a signal of an upcoming change in eligibility in an existing instrument than a new instrument in itself.

European Partnerships and the Future of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)

In the debate on the future direction, partnerships (including joint undertakings) are once again coming to the centre of attention, as the Commission wants to define more clearly their role and their link to other instruments, in particular the ECF. In the proposal for FP10, it is therefore working towards a closer link with the ECF, so as to create a smoother path from basic research through applied research to companies and their growth. In recent public statements, the Commission has emphasised that partnerships are an important and beneficial tool connecting actors from different sectors, but at the same time sees them as tools that need to be managed strategically. This is why FP10 aims to simplify partnerships, reduce administrative burdens for applicants, increase their flexibility and enable more ways of implementation. The second pillar, in which partnerships are currently located, is to remain the largest part of the programme and the mainstay of collaborative research.

The future of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is also being addressed along the same lines . The Commission acknowledges its role in developing the knowledge triangle and suggests that it should be maintained. However, according to EU rules, the EIT Regulation is subject to review and the Commission is to propose any changes with regard to its functioning and funding after 2027 by 31 December 2026 at the latest. Although the FP10 proposal includes the concept of the “knowledge triangle”, which the EIT has long promoted, the EIT itself is not explicitly and systematically anchored in the text. It will therefore be interesting to see in 2026 how the Commission and the Member States clarify its role after 2027.

Legislative news

European Research Area Act

One of the initiatives being prepared is the planned legislation called the European Research Area Act (ERA Act). The vast majority of ERA activities are coordinated and maintained only on the basis of voluntary participation by Member States, not by EU law itself. This is to change with the proposed ERA Act, which should create binding rules for Member States. These should include, for example, the provisions of the so-called fifth freedom ensuring the free movement of researchers and knowledge, or the commitment to direct investment in research and innovation to a level of at least 3% of national GDP (in combination with European funding). The specific percentage, but also the question of whether to set it at all, will be addressed in the third quarter of this year, when the Commission plans to submit a proposal (September 2026). The proposal will then go through the regular legislative process (see How the legislative process works). We expect its adoption at the end of 2027.

The vast majority of initiatives that aim to change the systemic approach to R&D&I in the EU can be expressed through public consultations. Unfortunately, the Czech Republic's voice is often insufficiently represented in these. The results of the public consultation were recently published as part of the preparation of the ERA Act. A total of 11 entities out of a total of 735 expressed their views on behalf of the Czech Republic. The ERA Act has its irreplaceable importance - since 2000, when the European Research Area (ERA) began to be created with the idea of ​​unifying the market for research, innovation and technology, it has gradually succeeded in coordinating and removing barriers between member states.

Scaleup Europe Fund

In response to the innovation gap, the European Commission has been trying to prepare a package of measures in recent months to address one of the biggest weaknesses of the European innovation ecosystem: Europe is successful in creating quality conditions for starting up startups and leading-edge research, but start-ups are having a harder time getting financing for the scaling and expansion phase, i.e. the capital needed for rapid growth and achieving global scale. This structural problem is highlighted, for example, by the European Investment Bank's thematic study " The scale-up gap ". According to its conclusions, European scale-up companies encounter capital constraints in the growth phase and often seek financing outside the EU.

The European Commission directly addresses this issue in the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy of May last year, which focuses, among other things, on targeted financial instruments such as the Scaleup Europe fund. This instrument represents investment support aimed at bridging the funding gap, especially in the area of ​​late-stage venture capital, which is often difficult to access in the EU. It will be a multi-billion euro growth fund linked to the EIC, operating on a market principle with significant involvement of private capital, with the primary objective of attracting investors and multiplying public funds. The announcement of a call for a Fund manager can be considered a signal of a shift into practice. The schedule published on the EIC website foresees the final selection of the manager in April and the subsequent launch of the Fund. The Fund should make its first commitments with investors and start its first investments no later than the summer of 2026.

European Innovation Act and the 28th regime

The second part of the solution to the innovation gap is the European Innovation Act, together with the so-called 28th regime. These are a pair of proposals that, after the lack of private capital, are intended to target another, but equally fundamental, obstacle: the fragmentation of rules in the EU. For innovative companies, 27 different regulatory rules often mean higher costs, slower expansion across borders and unnecessary obstacles to the commercialisation of research results. According to the Commission, the European Innovation Act is intended to improve the framework conditions for bringing innovations to the market, from the very cooperation between research and industry, through access to infrastructures, to strengthening the demand side, for example through innovative public procurement and greater legal certainty for contracting authorities.

The so-called 28th regime adds a practical tool: an optional uniform regime across the EU, which is intended to make it easier for companies to operate in the single market without having to adapt key processes to each national system separately.

The European Innovation Act was originally scheduled to be released on March 18, 2026. However, the European Commission had to postpone the release to an unspecified date due to internal processes.

Choose Europe Initiative and Recommendations on Attracting Talent for Innovation

The current geopolitical situation and the unclear direction of the US administration have prompted a rapid response from the European Commission, which last year launched the Choose Europe initiative , which aims to attract excellent foreign researchers to Europe and motivate them to work in the EU for the long term. As part of this initiative, the European Commission has prepared various tools, such as the so-called ERC super grants (ERC Plus Grants), the MSCA pilot action (MSCA Choose Europe for Science) co-financing long-term contracts for postdoctoral researchers, or a follow-up visa strategy that also applies to scientists.

The European Commission has followed up on the Choose Europe initiative and the new visa strategy with a Recommendation on Attracting Talent for Innovation. The Commission calls on Member States to remove administrative and regulatory barriers to the arrival and retention of top talent from third countries. The Recommendation focuses in particular on simplifying and accelerating visa and residence procedures. Although it is not a legally binding act, the Recommendation represents an important signal that can be followed up by national reforms and future legislative proposals in the area of ​​research careers and mobility.

How the legislative process works in the framework of FP10 and ECF preparations

Throughout the text, we often refer to the so-called ordinary legislative process, i.e. the approval process of legislation proposed by the European Commission. Each of them is discussed for a long time by the formations of the EU Council and also in the European Parliament before approval. What is the most important thing for us in the field of R&D&I to watch now? These are the proposals for the next framework programme for research and innovation, i.e. the next Horizon Europe (FP10) and also the related European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). Both proposals were presented by the European Commission last summer.

At the end of February, the EU Council discussed FP10 and the upcoming ECF. In the European Parliament, the debate shifted from the initial discussions to a specific Report on the proposal for the next Framework Programme. In it, the Parliament proposes a series of amendments to the Commission proposal, such as an increase in the budget, greater autonomy for the ERC or a new arrangement of work programmes. The aim is now for Parliament to vote in committee after the summer recess and for the plenary to deal with the issue in the autumn. According to the provisional timetable, the discussions on FP10 and ECF are expected to enter the next phase at the end of 2026, when the Parliament and the EU Council will begin preparing for interinstitutional negotiations on the final text of the regulation. Most of the work will therefore be moved to the end of 2026, while the actual conclusion of the agreement is likely to be expected in 2027.