Senior research policy MEP and Commission's R&I head say EU has to take more risks in investment

The head of the Commission's department for research and innovation and the MEP in charge of the report on the next Horizon Europe programme have backed a more pro-risk approach to innovation investment.

Christian Ehler, the EP's rapporteur for Horizon Europe and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), speaking at the EIC summit on 04/06/2026 , said: "We might lose 80% of the money, but if 25% of the money is well invested, we are closing much more than a market gap on the capital market; we are closing the gap that we don't have the growth potential the rest of the world has from startups and deep technologies."

Ehler added that his report would back the Commission's proposal for the EIC, but also push it to be more ambitious by giving programme and investment managers the independence they require to act as true market players. He said the EIC no longer just filled a gap in the market but was a market player that specifically addressed the unique characteristics of the EU's fragmented capital market.

"The Parliament is willing in its role as legislator and budget authority to…