European Commission – Proposal for a European Innovation Act: the key elements

On 9 September 2026, the Commission proposed the European Innovation Act, alongside the European Public Procurement Act. The main objective of the Innovation Act proposal is to improve the conditions for developing, commercialising and scaling up innovative solutions.

The European Innovation Act fits within the EU's broader agenda for technological sovereignty and competitiveness. In line with this, the Commission also launched a proposal on regulatory sandboxes, to help innovators turn promising ideas into market-ready solutions. It should be pointed out that some existing regulations, such as the AI Act have already touched upon this topic, but the proposal makes it available for areas not yet covered by EU legislation.

This article will explore the various measures proposed in the Innovation Act in more detail.

Although the EU has the talent, science and ideas necessary for innovation, many start-ups still struggle to secure funding. Additionally, IP valuation is shrouded in uncertainty. In the EU, IP-rich companies find it difficult to obtain financing because IP is rarely used as collateral. Unlike conventional physical or financial assets, IP can be much harder to value. This has a discouraging impact and can hinder the growth of start-ups and scale-ups.

Furthermore, public procurement is underutilised for procuring research, development and testing, and identifying new solutions for the public sector; this can stifle innovation. In the absence of a European framework, various national initiatives have been introduced to support innovation. However, these are fragmented and undermine the functioning of the single market. These challenges pave the way for ideas created in the EU to be monetised by others outside the Union. Against this backdrop, the Innovation Act proposal was written.

The proposal seeks to address the challenges discussed above and will apply across all sectors, unless explicitly excluded.

1. The first key element of the proposal is the introduction of common rules for public research and development (R&D) procurement procedure, including a Union harmonised framework for joint R&D procurement. The aim is to provide more legal certainty and enable new technologies to reach the market faster. By following the R&D procurement procedure set out in the proposal, the strategic priorities of the Union will be safeguarded, including its (economic) security. The proposal therefore stipulates the rules for conducting a market consultation, mandatory and optional exclusion grounds, and selection criteria, among other things.
2. A second key element of the proposal is the establishment of a Competence Centre, as part of the European Union Intellectual Property Office. The Centre's mission is to support and promote IP-backed finance and the commercialisation of IP. The Centre will establish and maintain, in close cooperation with the Commission, a Union-wide digital match-making platform to facilitate, on a voluntary basis, the licensing and transfer of IP rights. In addition, the Centre will support relevant public and private stakeholders in defining and implementing new public and private financial instruments backed by IP. Further to this, the proposal suggests the creation of a voluntary Union certification scheme for IP valuators. IP evaluators will assess the value of IP rights upon request from researchers, innovative enterprises, and public and private entities established in a Member State. These valuations are not intended to be legally binding or to have any presumptive legal effect. These measures are intended to increase the use of existing IP as a source of capital.

The Innovation Act proposal could lead to several positive developments. If implemented successfully, it will bring us closer to achieving a genuine single market. There will be a unified IP valuation framework, a centralised digital marketplace for IP buyers and sellers, and a streamlined process for public procurement of high-end research and development. This will lead to further progress towards a more autonomous Union.

On the other hand, the proposal is not broad in scope and addresses only a few of the factors that hinder innovation. For example, it does not contain any steps to improve industrial users’ access to public research infrastructure.