The new Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation is Ekaterina Zaharieva from Bulgaria. Her responsibilities include:

  • expanding the European Innovation Council and the European Research Council;
  • proposing a European Research Area Act to guarantee the free movement of researchers, scientific knowledge and technology;
  • developing a long-term strategy to boost European Research Infrastructure and a European Innovation Act to streamline the EU’s regulatory framework and facilitate access to venture capital; 
  • developing ways to support EU start- and scale-ups and creating a network of Trusted Investors to bring together deep tech investors across Europe;
  • preparing a new Strategy for European Life Sciences to unlock high-value technologies;
  • working on an Advanced Materials Act to support the research and innovation process through to manufacturing and deployment;
  • increasing the uptake of artificial intelligence by European scientists and helping to set up a European AI Research Council;
  • implementing and overseeing the funding from EU research and innovation programmes, such as Horizon Europe, as well as the EU Missions.

https://commission.europa.eu/about/organisation/college-commissioners/ekaterina-zaharieva_en