To remain a pioneer in the global race for science and innovation, Europe must decisively strengthen its research and technology infrastructures and make them even more integrated and accessible to a wider range of users.

The strategy ensures that scientists, researchers, innovators, and industry have easy access to Europe's cutting-edge facilities, high-quality data, and tailored services. It also aims to encourage world-class researchers and innovators to "choose Europe."

From top laboratories and pilot production lines to advanced equipment such as particle accelerators and clean rooms, Europe's world-class research infrastructures are the backbone of the European research and innovation ecosystem. They support the entire innovation cycle, from frontier research to market-ready innovation, thereby strengthening Europe’s industrial competitiveness and technological sovereignty.

The strategy sets out a package of actions in five areas:

1. Strengthening the European ecosystem of research and technology infrastructures by increasing capacities, mobilising investment, and better tailoring available facilities and services to user needs. The strategy also aims to maximise the potential of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) in European infrastructures.
2. Ensuring easier and better access to research and technology infrastructures to provide a continuous range of complementary services for researchers and innovative companies, including start-ups and scale-ups, across the EU. This will support scientific progress and drive the development, testing, and validation of technology, accelerating social adoption and market readiness of innovations.
3. Attracting and nurturing talent in Europe through strong career paths in research and technology infrastructures, from technicians to scientific leaders. This includes supporting staff to develop new skills and competencies and attracting talent from outside Europe in line with the “Choose Europe” approach.
4. Improving and simplifying the governance framework of research and technology infrastructures to support long-term investment decisions and align priorities among EU Member States and stakeholders. This includes strengthening coordination between funding sources and increasing the impact of public investment.
5. Strengthening the international dimension and resilience of research and technology infrastructures through cooperation with strategic partners to address global societal challenges. The Commission will work with Member States to promote the integration of candidate and associated countries into the European Research Area. The strategy also addresses risk management for infrastructures, particularly those related to access to critical data and facilities, fostering the EU’s sovereignty in critical technologies.

Background

The importance of research and technology infrastructures was highlighted both in the Draghi Report on “The Future of EU Competitiveness” and in the expert group’s report “Align, Act and Accelerate” on the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe. These infrastructures will be key to the “fifth freedom” — the free circulation of research, innovation, and knowledge — which underpins the entire research and innovation (R&I) ecosystem. Achieving this requires greater investment to build, upgrade, and operate these infrastructures in order to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness and leadership in frontier science.

The strategy is linked to and supports EU initiatives to strengthen research, innovation, and competitiveness, such as the EU Strategy for Start-ups and Scale-ups, the forthcoming AI in Science Strategy, the European Innovation Act, and the European Research Area Act.

A broad consultation process contributed to the preparation of the strategy, including a public call for data and several conferences and targeted events.