21 Jul 2026
European Research Ministers discuss how to maximise R&I contribution to improve Europe’s competitiveness, security and prosperity
The informal meeting of Research and Innovation (R&I) Ministers (COMPET Research) took place in Dublin on 20 and 21 July 2026, bringing together ministers from EU Member States, representatives from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Iceland and Norway, as well as European Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva. The meeting was chaired by Ireland’s Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, and provided a platform to exchange views on how research and innovation could contribute to strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, security and prosperity.
In their first Policy Debate, ministers discussed how to advance a genuine Single Market for Knowledge, Research and Innovation as a key contribution to Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and long-term prosperity. Building on the Letta and Draghi reports and the One Europe, One Market Roadmap, the debate focused on the upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act and the objective of establishing the “fifth freedom”, the free circulation of knowledge, research and innovation alongside the four freedoms of the Single Market. Ministers underlined that overcoming fragmentation, reducing barriers to researcher mobility, knowledge exchange and cross-border cooperation, and creating more attractive framework conditions for research were essential to unlocking Europe’s full innovation potential. The exchange also addressed the need to better align national and European research priorities and funding.
In the second Policy Debate, ministers discussed how Europe could strengthen its innovation performance by improving the transition from excellent research to market-ready innovations, competitive companies and tangible societal benefits. The discussion focused on creating the right framework conditions for closing Europe’s innovation gap, strengthening competitiveness and ensuring that research results could be effectively translated into successful scale-ups and deep-tech companies. While emphasising the need to boost innovation performance, it was also underlined that excellent fundamental research remains the foundation for Europe’s long-term competitiveness and future innovation capacity.
Under Any Other Business (AOB), Austrian Federal Minister Eva-Maria Holzleitner informed delegations about the EU Peace Research Initiative and emphasised the importance of strengthening Europe’s role in promoting peace, democracy and shared values through research. The Minister highlighted the recently finalised Policy Paper 'The Need for a New EU Research Agenda on Peace and Conflict' which aims to identify current research needs and support the establishment of peace and conflict research as a strategic priority in Horizon Europe 2028-2034. Delegations were invited to share the Policy Paper with relevant stakeholders and the scientific community, and to engage in further discussions on the initiative.
The formal COMPET Council (Research) will take place on 4 December in Brussels.
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