Report shows EU's struggle to maintain its impact on critical digital technologies

A report commissioned by the European Commission has shown that, despite a high volume of scientific publications in the field of critical digital technologies, the EU is struggling to maintain the quality and impact of its research.

As part of the preparations for its next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034, the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) published a strategic report on 30/09/2026, which assessed the state of European technology.

It shows that the EU27 ranks first in the world in publication volume in almost all critical digital technologies, with the exceptions of AI and cybersecurity. However, Europe is stagnating in terms of its share of the world’s most-cited scientific publications, falling behind the US and…