欧盟委员会发布战略数字技术研究报告，为 2028–2034 年科研计划确定优先方向

The European Commission has published a new study to help shape priorities in digital technologies for research, development and innovation in Europe under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034).

The study will inform the future digital strand of Horizon Europe and identifies the critical research trends with disruptive potential for the European digital leadership ambitions.

Key findings: challenges and opportunities

The study shows that Europe continues to face a well-recognised challenge in critical digital technologies. Although the EU retains scientific strengths and a robust regulatory framework, it is losing ground internationally in research excellence and patenting across most digital fields, and still struggles to commercialise research results at scale. The study highlights that the core issue is not a mismatch between research and industrial needs, but rather the EU’s limited ability to operate consistently at the technological frontier and to convert innovation into market success.

At the same time, the study underlines that Europe has important assets to build on. In the EU, more than 60,000 tech companies are developing critical digital technologies, while the digital start-up landscape has expanded rapidly, reaching 20,720 advanced digital tech start-ups in 2025. Venture capital investment in the EU’s key digital technology areas has also grown substantially since 2015, providing a strong foundation for future competitiveness and innovation-driven growth.

The study identifies strong opportunities in cross-technology innovation, with AI emerging as a key enabling technology across multiple domains, including robotics, cybersecurity, advanced computing, connectivity and edge applications. It also highlights semiconductor-photonics integration, cybersecurity for data sharing and identity, advanced connectivity, and the integration of Virtual Reality (XR) with Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-edge systems as promising areas for future research and innovation. Energy-efficient digital technologies are identified as a strategic cross-cutting priority because they can reduce energy consumption, lower costs and support the sustainable development of all critical digital technologies.

The study also finds that Horizon Europe has already made significant investments in digital technologies, with around €13 billion committed through the 2021–2025 work programmes, particularly in microelectronics, AI, data and connectivity. However, it stresses that further investment, stronger links to industry, better access to infrastructures, more support for scaling at Technology Readiness Level 6, and improved protection of European intellectual property will be needed if Europe is to strengthen its technological sovereignty and competitiveness.

Next steps: shaping the future EU research & innovation agenda

The study’s findings will support the European Commission in preparing the next EU research and innovation programme in critical digital technologies. It recommends continued and expanded EU investment, a stronger cross-technology approach, greater focus on emerging disruptive domains, more agile funding mechanisms, and a balanced model of strategic openness that protects Europe’s interests while preserving international collaboration. The study also calls for stronger support for energy-efficient and human-centric digital technologies, deeper industrial anchoring, and better connections between research, scale-up and deployment.

Read the full report and annexes: