European Union Innovation Activity in the Shadow of China, Canada and Australia
By Innovation performance in Europe is steadily improving, with the EU’s overall score rising by 11.6 percentage points since 2019, according to the European Commission’s recently published “2026 European Innovation Scoreboard” (EIS). European Union countries have seen a period of steady growth over the past decade. China, South Korea, and Australia have outpaced EU countries in the pace of comprehensive innovation production.
However, progress in innovation development in leading countries has not translated into improved competitiveness of European Union economies, as noted in the “EU Competitiveness Compass” published in 2025. Between 2025 and 2026, innovation performance in the EU improved by 1.7%, following a moderate increase of 0.5% in the previous year. While all EU Member States have recorded progress, these results vary significantly across countries, the press release states.
Stéphane Séjourné’s statement is significant. The Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy rightly states that “Innovation performance is crucial for Europe’s competitiveness, building on the scale and strength of our single market.”
Despite this reality, Ekaterina Zakhareva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, argues that “Europe’s innovation engine has proven resilient. Every Member State has improved its performance since 2019, and this year’s ranking shows that economic growth is accelerating again.”
The EU in the Shadow of China, Canada, and Australia
The report states that “South Korea remains the innovation leader in 2026, while China narrowly overtakes Canada and Australia. Australia overtakes the United States.” South Korea is now the most innovative global competitor in 2026, surpassing the EU average by 21.9% in 2026. China, Canada, Australia, and the United States also outperform the EU.
The comparative study shows that “between 2019 and 2026, all competitors improved their innovation performance, but China, South Korea, and Australia widened their lead over the EU.” In 2025, the EU gained a slight lead over the United States and Canada.
Detailed results by indicators show significantly higher growth since 2019 in government support for business R&D in China, the United States, and Canada, and in business R&D expenditure in the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea than in the EU.
“However, the global race is becoming increasingly difficult, and we cannot afford to slow down. The Startup and Scaleup Strategy, EU Inc., and the upcoming European Innovation Act are our response, creating the conditions that will ensure Europe remains a leader in innovation for decades to come,” argues Ekaterina Zakhareva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation.
EU Innovation Leaders. Source: “2026 European Innovation Scoreboard”
Innovators in Groups
Member States are divided into four groups based on their performance. “Innovation Leaders” score 125% above the EU average; “Strong Innovators” score 100-125% of the EU average; “Moderate Innovators” score 70-100% of the EU average; and “Emerging Innovators” score below 70% of the EU average.
Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands once again lead the ranking, surpassing the EU average and retaining their “Innovation Leaders” status. Finland maintains a strong, stable fourth position, while Malta has made significant progress, surpassing the EU average and now being a “Strong Innovator” (achieving 100-125% of the EU average).
Slovenia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Hungary are “moderate innovators,” whose performance is below the EU average. Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Bulgaria, and Romania are “emerging innovators,” whose performance is significantly below the EU average (below 70% of the EU average). These “emerging innovators” have been rising practically since the beginning of the research and the publication of the report. The report exposes the lagging behind of these countries and the persistent innovation gap.
This year’s ranking marks the first time Georgia has been included in the ranking. This, according to the report’s authors, “reflects the expansion of the scope of Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation program.”
The Strength of 32 Indicators
The Innovation Performance Analysis is an annual assessment of the innovation performance of EU Member States, neighboring countries, and key global competitors. The assessment is based on 32 indicators covering areas such as underlying conditions (namely education or digital infrastructure), public and private investment in research and development, innovation activity (including patents and startups), and economic, environmental, and social impact.
The authors emphasize that the EIS Report is based on the latest and most reliable data and a robust methodology developed and verified by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre.
Source: “2026 European Innovation Scoreboard”
Importantly, the “EIS Report” is the basis for shaping EU innovation policy. It is created, among other things, to “monitor Europe’s progress in closing the innovation gap with global competitors.” It is therefore a crucial source of information for decision-makers, which informs a number of “important initiatives, including [designing – Ministry of Economy] strategies for startups and scaleups, EU Inc., as well as the upcoming European Innovation Act and the European Research Area Act.”
This information clearly indicates the activities to which funds will be allocated under programs supporting the “production” of innovations and their commercialization. It turns out that countries at the forefront of the “EIS Report” utilize these funds most effectively and efficiently.
There, innovation clusters and innovation hubs develop successful projects and “devour” the lion’s share of the EU funds allocated for the development and commercialization of innovations. Moderate and emerging innovators, by purchasing these innovations, further strengthen the position of innovation clusters operating in countries classified as “strong innovators” with their own budgets.
The European Commission is striving
The European Commission is striving to strengthen the competitive position of European Union economies by introducing funding for business activities in designing and implementing innovations. It is also working to internationalize initiatives within the European Union to generate synergies based on the human and technological potential of several countries.
“To help businesses make decisions that drive innovation and strengthen our resilience, the Commission has introduced the Industrial Accelerator Act and is working to provide further support through the European Competitiveness Fund to lay the foundations for our future prosperity,” emphasizes Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy.
The most active in the development of innovation in the EU. Source: “2026 European Innovation Scoreboard”
Recommendations for maritime industries
The results contained in the “EIS Report” are extremely important for maritime industries. Maritime transport, seaports, and the shipbuilding industry, as well as yacht production, offshore industries, seafood production, and tourism, are developing in an environment of innovations created in other industries.
Not only is the development of technologies and the implementation of AI, big data, space technologies, VR, IoT, automation, and robotics in maritime industries crucial. Creating conditions for the development of synergies between new technologies, people, industry, and quality of life is crucial. This requires the competence of politicians and managers, as well as organizational effort.
Countries in the APAC region are implementing organizational innovations, legal and administrative improvements on a large scale. These communities are building industrial and technological advantages by creating global production logistics networks. These begin with sourcing raw materials for the logistics of producing final products: smartphones and cranes for terminals, ships and vessels, high-speed trains and rockets. But above all, robots and automated machines, high-performance computers, and quantum computers.
China is not only building quantum computers but is currently one of the global leaders in this field, investing heavily in research and infrastructure development. Not a high-tech company or technical university, but the startup CAS Cold Atom Technology has built a 200-qubit quantum computer based on neutral atoms, distinguished by its innovative dual-core architecture.
It should be added that China’s “Origin Wukong,” a cluster of superconducting quantum computers, has surpassed the one million computational tasks milestone. The Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Computing Chips and the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center reported this news in the Global Times on June 15th of this year.
One might ask, what does quantum computing or the space industry have in common with innovation in the maritime industry? Where quantum computers are developed and the space industry thrives, there is an environment for innovation in the maritime industry.
Where industrial and financial clusters and innovation hubs operate, there are modern ships and vessels, robots, and automated systems being developed. There are wind turbines, advanced generators and blades, control system components, and transformers for offshore wind energy. This is where competitive advantage is created. All these institutions are created by people. If they operate in an innovative environment, they create innovation and a competitive advantage. If they don’t, they copy or pay for innovations from others and become subcontractors. This is the conclusion of the “2026 European Innovation Scoreboard” report.
Najbardziej aktywne kraje w rozwoju innowacji w latach 2019-2026. Źródło: „2026 European Innovation Scoreboard”