EU calls for action to close €560bn R&D investment gap

Brussels – The EU needs an estimated €560 billion in additional investment to meet its target of spending 3% of GDP on research and development by 2030, according to a new European Commission report.

Published 1 Oct, the 2026 Science, Research and Innovation Performance of the EU report found that Europe remained a global scientific leader, ranking second worldwide for scientific output, with 57% of EU scientific publications involving international collaboration.

However, the Commission said, Europe is less successful in turning that scientific strength into strategic technologies, market leadership and productivity growth.

The report highlighted four main challenges: investment, fragmentation, scaling up innovation and global competition.

It pointed to financing and technology-deployment bottlenecks in areas including artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductors and cloud computing, alongside fragmentation of research activities across countries and institutions.

The report called for greater coordination of public and private investment, stronger regional collaboration and increased focus on technologies considered critical to Europe's competitiveness.

The Commission is also preparing a ‘European Research Area Act’ aimed at improving coordination of national and EU research priorities and supporting progress towards the 3% R&D investment target.