Home / Business and Politics / EU funds after 2028: focus on AI, space, clean technologies or biotechnology

EU funds after 2028: focus on AI, space, clean technologies or biotechnology

If you are developing a business around artificial intelligence, technologies that will help in understanding space, clean technologies, or biotechnology, there is a great chance that you will be able to apply for funding from EU funds in the next budget period and that these funds will be quite generous. Such messages can be read from the new document of the European Commission, Compass of Competitiveness, which states, among other things, that innovative European companies should not be forced to seek funding in the USA, Asia, or other markets to develop and grow.

It is no news that Europe lags behind in attracting capital for fast-growing companies, and financial fragmentation and bureaucratic obstacles slow down their development, which has motivated the Commission to announce a series of measures in the aforementioned document that should facilitate financing for innovative companies and encourage domestic, European investments in them to ensure the EU’s competitiveness on the global stage.

€300 billion is leaving

One of the key problems that the EU is trying to solve is the limited access to European capital for financing innovations. Every year, as much as €300 billion of savings from European citizens ends up in foreign markets, enabling the growth of foreign companies instead of being reinvested within the EU. To reverse this trend, the Commission plans to revise the European regulatory framework to reduce risks for business banks, investors, and venture capital, ensuring that fast-growing companies can find financing in Europe.

One of the key steps will be the development of the so-called European Union of Savings and Investments, which should unify banking markets and capital markets. This project is based on recommendations from Enrico Letta’s report, and its goal is to leverage the private savings of Europeans for investments in innovations, green technologies, and digital transformation.

Better public procurement

In addition to reforming financial markets, the Commission intends to better utilize public procurement, which currently accounts for 14 percent of the EU’s GDP. The calculations show that increasing efficiency by just one percent could yield savings of €20 billion annually. However, beyond savings, public procurement can also become a powerful tool for developing innovative goods and services and creating a market for strategic technologies. In this context, a revision of the Public Procurement Directive is planned, which would allow for the prioritization of European products in procurement for certain strategic sectors. This would not only strengthen the European economy but also ensure the stability of supply for key technologies and services.

Large industrial projects

One of the more ambitious projects is the establishment of the European Competitiveness Fund, which is expected to become a key instrument for promoting investments in strategic technologies. From artificial intelligence to space, from clean technologies to biotechnology, this fund should ensure that Europe is not just a consumer but also a leader in the development and production of advanced technologies. The fund will also support important projects of common interest (IPCEI), which allow member states to jointly invest in large industrial projects. Examples of such projects already exist in the fields of battery technologies, hydrogen, and microelectronics, with a new wave of investments planned for the beginning of 2025.

Tagged: