European Semester Spring Package: boosting research and innovation for competitiveness

The European Commission urges Member States to step up R&I investment and reform efforts.

The European Commission has unveiled its 2025 European Semester Spring Package. The annual package offers country-specific guidance on economic and social policies.

This year's edition highlights research and innovation as pivotal drivers of competitiveness and sustainable growth across Member States. The recommendations build on the framework set by the Competitiveness Compass and the strategic insights of the Draghi report. 

The Spring Package details persistent challenges in research and innovation that impede national growth and sustainability. It also provides recommendations on how research can overcome economic challenges.

Persistent challenges across Member States 

The reports reveal that all Member States are grappling with widespread research-related challenges, which include: 

• Insufficient and unstable investment from both public and private sectors, hindering long-term research initiatives and innovation development.
• Structural barriers that prevent translating research excellence into scalable and disruptive innovations, which are essential for boosting productivity and competitiveness.
• Slow adoption and integration of digital technologies by businesses, leading to missed opportunities in digital transformation and efficiency gains. 

These comprehensive analyses form the basis of targeted recommendations for each Member State, providing specific guidance to address these challenges within their unique contexts. 

A comprehensive set of recommendations

The 2025 Spring Package delivers an unprecedented collection of 26 country-specific recommendations focusing on critical areas to bolster R&I capabilities across Europe: 

1. Investment: Encourage increased public and private sector investment in R&D to reach the EU target of 3% GDP expenditure on research, crucial for fostering innovation and maintaining competitiveness in a global economy.
2. Coordination and Integration: Address the institutional fragmentation of research systems by promoting greater coordination among public research organisations to enhance efficiency and maximise the impact of national R&I efforts.
3. Governance Improvements: Advocate for clear strategic frameworks and stronger collaboration between government actors to improve research and innovation governance, ensuring that R&I activities align with broader economic objectives.
4. Research Careers: Enhance the attractiveness, stability, and mobility of research careers to attract and retain top talent, crucial for sustaining high levels of research excellence and innovation capacity.
5. Science-Business Linkages: Strengthen collaboration between scientific institutions and businesses, and improve mechanisms for knowledge transfer, enabling faster commercialisation of research insights and innovations.
6. Policy Support for Innovation: Expand and optimise public support instruments, such as research and development tax incentives and grants, with a focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to stimulate business-driven innovation.
7. Venture Capital and Start-up Ecosystems: Support the development of vibrant innovation ecosystems by improving access to finance for start-ups and scale-ups, including through enhanced venture capital instruments and favourable regulatory environments. 

These recommendations aim to keep R&I at the forefront of the EU's growth strategy, ensuring Europe remains competitive on the global stage. They work towards building an environment where innovation thrives, leading to the attraction and retention of top global talent, the proliferation of dynamic start-ups, and the acceleration of tech advancements across Member States. 

Background

The European Semester provides the policy coordination framework to address key economic and social challenges at EU and Member State level. The European Semester is a key mechanism for delivering on the priorities set out in the Competitiveness Compass, supporting Member States in aligning national reforms and investments with the EU’s common objectives, ensuring consistent implementation across all levels of governance. 

The European Semester’s monitoring and guiding of national economic and social policies includes research and innovation. By identifying structural challenges and investment needs in research and innovation - covering areas such as investment levels, start-ups, and researchers' careers - it also supports the implementation of EU initiatives, such as the recently launched Choose Europe initiative and the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy.

More information

2025 European Semester: Spring package

Press contact:

EC Spokesperson for Research, Science and Innovation