Bulgarian Liaison Office for Research

🔔 €204 Million in New EU Funding to Boost Digital Innovation and Skills T he European Commission has launched new calls under the Digital Europe Programme, offering €204 million in funding to accelerate Europe’s digital transformation. The calls aim to strengthen business digitalisation, foster innovation, enhance digital skills, and advance digital health initiatives across Member States. 📌 Key focus areas include: - Supporting the uptake of advanced digital technologies in businesses and public services - Expanding the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) - Promoting digital skills and the use of AI, data, and digital health tools - Further developing the EU Digital Identity Wallet and digital public infrastructure - Encouraging innovation in mobility, automotive, and media sectors 🌍 Opportunities for Stakeholders in Bulgaria Bulgarian companies, research organisations, innovation hubs, and public institutions are encouraged to explore participation opportunities in these calls. There is strong potential for Bulgarian stakeholders to: - Lead or join consortia developing cross-border digital solutions - Engage in projects supporting digitalisation of SMEs and public services - Contribute to advancing digital skills and health technologies - Strengthen Bulgaria’s role within the European network of digital innovation hubs Organisations in Bulgaria are invited to review the open calls via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and identify areas that align with their expertise and strategic goals. Collaboration between Bulgarian and European partners will be key to building impactful, future-ready digital initiatives. Read more on the calls: https://lnkd.in/djQeB33F

📢 EU Commission Adopts New Measures to Boost Institutional Investment in the European Economy The European Commission has today announced a set of new measures aimed at strengthening the role of institutional investors, such as banks and insurance companies, in financing Europe’s long-term growth. The initiative is part of the Savings and Investments Union, designed to better connect household savings with businesses and infrastructure projects across the EU. These measures will help direct more capital toward innovation, the green and digital transitions, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Impact for Bulgaria: For Bulgaria, the new framework opens significant opportunities to attract institutional investment into key sectors such as renewable energy, digitalisation, and SME development. By encouraging a more dynamic flow of private capital, Bulgarian financial institutions can play a stronger role in supporting sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The reforms are expected to: - Facilitate long-term investment through improved regulatory frameworks. - Strengthen local capital markets and financing options. - Enhance Bulgaria’s alignment with broader EU financial and sustainability goals. T his development marks a key step toward building a more resilient and competitive European financial system, with tangible benefits for Bulgaria’s investors, businesses, and citizens. 🔗 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dVNYH6Q7

🚀 Exciting news for Europe’s AI community! On 12 November 2025 (16:00–17:00 CET), the European Commission will host the first “Fireside Chat on the Apply AI Strategy” - a new online series dedicated to helping organisations across Europe embrace an AI-First mindset. The Apply AI Strategy aims to boost AI adoption across key sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, energy, mobility, and culture - strengthening Europe’s innovation capacity and supporting SMEs and public organisations in their digital transformation journey. This first session will feature Lucilla Sioli, Director of the EU AI Office, who will discuss how the strategy will be implemented and what opportunities it opens for European businesses and public administrations. 🇧🇬 For Bulgaria, this is a great opportunity to connect with EU initiatives, explore funding and collaboration opportunities, and accelerate national progress in AI development and adoption. 📅 Don’t miss this chance to stay informed and inspired about Europe’s next steps in AI and watch it here: https://lnkd.in/d8cQGmuw

🚀 A pivotal moment for European innovation The European Innovation Council (EIC) Board has just released its statement on the Commission’s FP10 proposal - and the message is clear: Europe is doubling down on innovation. 💡 The Board welcomes the Commission’s strong commitment to a standalone innovation pillar centred around the EIC, with a proposed 3.5× budget increase - a powerful signal at a time when negotiations on FP10 are underway. 🔗 This vision keeps the EIC’s independence intact, reinforces the full innovation journey from research to scale-up, and strengthens Europe’s ability to turn breakthrough ideas into global impact. ⚙️ Yet, as the statement highlights, some key details remain to be defined -particularly around: • Reflows to the EIC Fund • The ARPA-like Challenge model • Synergies with the ERC and Pillar 2 🌍 For countries like Bulgaria, where innovators are increasingly active in deep tech and emerging sectors, a stronger, better-resourced EIC could open new pathways to scale European excellence from every corner of the continent.

🌱 Entrepreneurship in Rural Europe: Insights from the Latest JRC Policy Brief The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has released new evidence on entrepreneurship and innovation across EU regions - revealing how local conditions shape business creation, startup activity, and scaleup success. Across the EU, over 1.1 million new enterprises with at least one employee were created in 2022, an average firm creation rate of 9.4%. Yet, the data highlight a clear urban–rural divide: 🏙️ Urban regions: 10.1% firm creation rate 🌾 Rural regions: 8.7% Despite this gap, several rural areas in Estonia, Romania, Finland, and Hungary outperform the EU average, showing that rural innovation is possible when the right ecosystem is in place - access to skills, finance, and infrastructure. 📈 Startups are still concentrated in cities, with 146 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to fewer than 19 in rural areas, but rural Europe shows unique strengths in agrifood, energy, transport, robotics, and semiconductors - sectors critical for Europe’s green and digital transition. 🇧🇬 Where does Bulgaria stand? Bulgaria’s firm creation rate remains below the EU average, and its rural startup density is among the lower tiers in Europe. Strengthening entrepreneurial education, improving access to finance, and building local innovation networks could unlock Bulgaria’s untapped potential in rural regions - particularly in agritech and energy transitions. The brief reinforces a key message: entrepreneurship can thrive anywhere - if policies are place-based, inclusive, and data-driven.

🌍 Building a Culture of Research Security in Europe 🇪🇺 This week’s discussions at the European Conference on Research Security in Brussels highlight a crucial point: safeguarding international collaboration is not about closing doors - it’s about building trust, capacity, and shared responsibility across Europe’s research landscape. The newly released Science Europe Report on Research Security captures this perfectly. Drawing on workshops hosted in Brussels, London, and Kraków, it outlines six key messages - from embedding research security through awareness and culture change, to ensuring proportionality in due diligence, and creating systemic support for both large and small institutions. As Science Europe emphasises, balancing openness, security, and academic freedom remains the defining challenge - and opportunity - for Europe’s research future. It’s encouraging to see countries across the continent, including Bulgaria, investing in stronger frameworks for responsible internationalisation and research integrity. Building in-house expertise and linking national efforts to EU-level initiatives will be essential for all Member States to thrive in an increasingly complex global landscape. Discussions in Brussels reaffirm that research security is not a constraint - it’s an enabler: a framework that empowers collaboration, protects values, and strengthens Europe’s role as a trusted global partner in science and innovation.

🚀 Exciting news! On 13 November 2025, the European Commission’s “From Knowledge to Impact: Shaping Europe’s Next Innovation Wave” event will take place in Brussels (and via livestream) - and it’s a must-attend for everyone who cares about turning research into real impact. Here’s why I’m looking forward to it: 🔍 What’s on the agenda. The event brings together stakeholders from research, innovation, startups and scale-ups, infrastructure, and policy. The aim? To explore the latest initiatives under Horizon Europe, the Startup & Scale-up Strategy, the Research & Technology Infrastructures Strategy, and the ERA Policy Agenda 2025-2027. 🌍 Why it matters for Europe (and Bulgaria). – For Europe as a whole: this is about accelerating knowledge valorisation — turning academic and public research into economic and societal gains. – For Bulgaria: there’s genuine opportunity here to enhance collaboration, boost innovation ecosystems, and ensure that Bulgarian research & innovation stakeholders are fully plugged into EU-wide discussions. Whether you’re in academia, a startup in Sofia, or part of a regional innovation hub — this is relevant. – Bringing Bulgarian voices to the table means we can help shape how innovation support mechanisms are designed and ensure they reflect regional realities, including in Eastern Europe. 💡 What to expect. – Insightful sessions on how to make knowledge work for impact. – Networking and exchange of best practices across Europe. – Live-stream option - so you can join regardless of location. – Useful for policymakers, innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs and anyone interested in building the next wave of innovation. 📌 Action steps: * Register for the event at: https://lnkd.in/dgRzVqrG * If you’re based in Bulgaria, invite colleagues or stakeholders who might benefit - it’s a great opportunity. * Think ahead: What innovation challenge do you face? What knowledge-to-impact gap does your organisation aim to fill? Bring those questions into the event.

🇪🇺 Divided We Fall Behind – and Why Bulgaria (and all of Europe) Must Connect to Compete Europe is sitting on immense talent and resources - yet, according to the European Commission’s latest report “Divided We Fall Behind” (2025), our innovation power is being undermined by one thing: fragmentation. While the United States operates as a single innovation ecosystem, Europe remains a patchwork of 27 national systems. The data are clear: * The EU’s research & innovation (R&I) network is significantly more fragmented than the US. * The gap is most damaging in complex technologies like AI, biotech, and quantum computing. * In these fields, fragmentation acts as a “complexity penalty” - the more sophisticated the tech, the harder it is for Europe to keep up. This is not just an abstract policy problem. It’s about competitiveness, jobs, and our ability to shape the future. Take Bulgaria as an example: despite strong universities and a growing tech scene in Sofia, too many innovators still operate in silos. The report shows that unless smaller and emerging innovation hubs are more tightly connected to Europe’s major R&I networks, we all lose out. To change this, the report calls for: * A true European Research Area where ideas, people, and funding move freely. * More support for cross-border collaboration — not just within countries, but across them. * A focus on “Complex Technology Integration Networks” that bridge multiple hubs and disciplines. Because in innovation, as in Europe itself, together is stronger.

🚀 Europe’s AI future is accelerating! 🚀 The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking has announced the selection of six new AI Factories - in Czechia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and Spain - further expanding Europe’s AI infrastructure and innovation ecosystem. These new AI Factories will join the 13 previously established ones, creating a powerful network of 19 AI hubs across the continent. Together, they will provide access to cutting-edge AI-optimised supercomputing resources, data platforms, and expertise for startups, SMEs, and research institutions. This initiative marks a significant step forward in building a digitally sovereign and competitive Europe, where AI technologies can be developed, tested, and deployed on European infrastructure. It’s also worth highlighting Bulgaria’s role as one of the earlier hosts of an AI Factory. The Bulgarian facility continues to play an important part in advancing regional AI research and strengthening Europe’s interconnected innovation network. Exciting times for European AI – collaboration, computing power, and innovation are truly coming together to shape the next chapter of digital transformation. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dmbDueyJ

🇪🇺 Europe’s Next Chapter: The 2026 Commission Work Programme Today, the European Commission unveiled its 2026 Work Programme, titled “Europe’s Independence Moment” - a bold plan to strengthen Europe’s sovereignty, competitiveness, and resilience in an increasingly complex world. The programme focuses on five key pillars: 🔹 Sustainable prosperity and competitiveness – through initiatives like the Industrial Accelerator Act and a European Innovation Act to unlock the full potential of the Single Market by 2028. 🔹 Defence and security – enhancing readiness and cooperation under the Readiness 2030 framework, with initiatives such as the European Drone Defence Initiative to protect our eastern flank. 🔹 Social model and innovation – addressing affordability, fair labour mobility, and quality jobs. 🔹 Quality of life – supporting farmers, ensuring food and water security, and delivering the European Climate Adaptation Plan. 🔹 Democracy and global engagement – protecting democratic institutions, standing firmly with Ukraine, and deepening partnerships around the world. For countries like Bulgaria, this roadmap offers tangible opportunities - from simplifying EU rules for businesses and farmers to strengthening our role in Europe’s green and digital transition. With the focus on implementation, innovation, and competitiveness, Bulgaria and other Member States stand to benefit from a more agile, forward-looking Union. This is not just about policy - it’s about shaping the Europe of tomorrow. 🌍✨ Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dRaBQKqN