On the 15th of July the 25th edition of the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) was released. Since 20000, the objective of this yearly report is to monitor the performance of the innovation of EU countries and other leading innovation countries. Furthermore, it helps to identify priority areas for R&D policies. INSME has been working to bridge the gap between moderate innovation and innovation leaders for years, with initiatives funded by the European Commission such as AccelerAction EU and XPRESS. The road ahead is still long, and there is new data to help navigate it.
“The 2025 scoreboard confirms our long-term progress but also highlights the urgent need to do more and to close persistent gaps between the different parts of Europe,” said Ekaterina Zaharieva, the European commissioner responsible for research and innovation.
At the top of the ranking, Sweden has reclaimed the title of Europe’s leading innovator, overtaking Denmark, which had held first place for four consecutive years. Sweden’s strengths lie in its vibrant private-sector research and development, high rates of digital technology uptake, particularly cloud computing, and productivity measures adjusted for environmental efficiency. The familiar innovation hierarchy remains, with countries grouped into “Innovation Leaders”, “Strong Innovators”, “Moderate Innovators” and “Emerging Innovators.” However, there are notable shifts within these groups. Croatia, for example, has achieved a remarkable 19.4‑point improvement since 2018, moving from the “Emerging” to the “Moderate Innovator” category. Cyprus and Hungary also recorded significant long-term gains, though their relative positions fell due to the pace of change among their peers.
A key storyline in this year’s scoreboard is the regional divergence between Western and Northern Europe and the rest of the continent. Many of the fastest‑improving countries are in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, showing that so‑called “widening countries” are catching up in absolute performance. Nonetheless, innovation remains heavily concentrated in the traditional leaders of the North and West, illustrating that closing Europe’s internal innovation gap remains an unfinished task.
The scoreboard also highlights the drivers and weaknesses of Europe’s innovation system. Growth is being propelled by strong business R&D expenditure, digital transformation, and sustainable production practices. However, persistent shortcomings remain, including relatively low levels of high‑tech imports, weaker design and trademark outputs, and insufficient labour mobility within innovation-intensive sectors. These weaknesses reduce the speed at which new ideas scale and spread across the continent.
This stagnation comes at a critical time, with Europe facing mounting global competition. Policymakers are responding with ambitious proposals to strengthen innovation ecosystems. The European Commission has launched initiatives such as the Scale‑Up Europe Fund, designed to provide over €10 billion in growth capital for late‑stage startups, and is considering broader investment compacts worth hundreds of billions of euros annually to match the innovation intensity of the United States and China. Experts also argue that systemic reforms to financial markets, procurement frameworks, and regulatory systems are essential to accelerate the growth of Europe’s next generation of globally competitive technology firms.
With innovation increasingly linked to productivity, competitiveness, and technological sovereignty, Europe faces a decisive moment: whether to translate its potential into global leadership or risk slipping behind in the race for the industries of the future.
Source: INSME Secretariat
