ERC publishes workshop report on EU competitiveness

As a follow-up of a workshop that the European Research Council (ERC) organised to address Europe’s global competitiveness, the ERC has published a report with conclusions. Hosted by ERC President Maria Leptin in Brussels on 10 April 2025, this closed workshop convened a high-level group of participants, including Nobel Prize winner Ben Feringa, European Commission Executive Vice-President Minna Virkkunen, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva, and other senior policy-makers from the European Parliament and the national level, prominent industry personalities from a variety of various sectors, as well as leading researchers, among them ERC grantees.

In the workshop, key factors were identified as challenges to European competitiveness, and participants outlined a series of actionable measures, including 'reinforcing fundamental research' and ' improving data infrastructure'.

The report can be downloaded here:

Report Research & Innovation for a Competitive Europe From Analysis to Action