Europe Performs Well in Innovation

The EU's innovation performance has made steady long–term progress, increasing by 12.6 percentage points since 2018. The latest edition of the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) reveals significant shifts in national innovation performance.

Thirteen Member States improved their score since last year, with Malta (+7.6 points) and Luxembourg (+5 points) seeing the largest gains. Since 2018, all EU countries have boosted their innovation performance, although progress varies from 0.9 points in Luxembourg to 30 points in Estonia. Sweden reclaimed its position as the EU's top innovator, with a 12.9 percentage point increase since 2018, driven by advancements in lifelong learning, business Research and Development (R&D) expenditure, and cloud computing.

Ireland now leads the Strong Innovators group. Since 2018, its performance has grown by 13.3 percentage points, with strengths in cloud computing, production-based CO2 productivity, and SME collaboration. Croatia moved up to the Moderate Innovators group after a remarkable 19.4-point increase since 2018. Nevertheless, the newly published 2025 EIS and Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS) show a slight decline of 0.4 points between 2024 and 2025. This recent slowdown highlights the need for accelerated action in the face of uncertainty and growing global competition.

The RIS reveals an uneven regional landscape, with long-term improvements and a narrowing innovation gap between the top and bottom-performing regions. However, disparities between Northern and Southern Europe persist. Overall, 233 out of 241 regions improved their innovation performance from 2018 to 2025, with an average increase of almost 12 percentage points.

However, 82 regions recorded a decline between 2023 and 2025. Northern and Western Europe dominate among the top-performing regions. Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe continue to catch up, although some regions perform above the EU average, including Praha, Catalunya, País Vasco/Euskadi, Comunidad de Madrid, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, and Comunitat Valenciana.

“The 2025 findings confirm that Europe’s innovation engine is resilient, but the global race for technological leadership is intensifying. While many European countries lead with groundbreaking advancements, the EU must accelerate its digital and green transitions to close the gap with global competitors. By investing in regional clusters, supporting SMEs, and ensuring more access to key resources, we can turn today’s challenges into tomorrow’s opportunities for a competitive and innovative Europe,“ said Raffaele Fitto, European Commission EVP for Cohesion and Reforms.