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Research, resilience, competitiveness, security: these were the buzzwords at the last edition of the European Research and Innovation Days last September in Brussels. Across twenty panels over two days, a consistent narrative emerged: a Europe increasingly concerned about shifting geopolitical dynamics, seeking to intertwine research and innovation with security, defense, and competitiveness as strategic responses. As President Von der Leyen stated in her opening speech, “Europe needs science, research, and innovation more than ever to remain competitive and address new challenges.” Commissioner Zaharieva echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that research and innovation must stand “at the heart of our competitiveness” – underscoring the EU’s evolving priorities.

The Changing Narrative of Research and Innovation

Beyond the optimistic rhetoric of progress and resilience, the debates revealed a Europe where innovation is increasingly framed through a geopolitical and military lens. As Austrian Minister Holzleitner warned, excess “emphasis on short-term competitiveness” could turn the pursuit of innovation into an instrument of strategic rivalry rather than long-term scientific advancement. She underlined the need to wisely link Horizon Europe with security, highlighting the EU’s strategic turn in research and innovation. Professor Sylvia Schwaag Sieger was instead unequivocal: “technology is driving power, and if we are not at the top of the technological development ladder, then we are not at the table when important things are being discussed” – a fitting reminder of the eat or be eaten logic that defined the geopolitics of innovation at this year’s R&I Days.
The R&I Days 2025 coincided with Mario Draghi’s speech marking one year since his report on the future of European competitiveness – a moment that set the tone for the entire event. For Commissioner Zaharieva, the way to remain “at the table” lies in completing the Single Market – a theme strongly echoed by Draghi, whose report and speech have shaped the new European competitiveness agenda. Speaker Lars Frolund pointed to Europe’s dependence on foreign capital, and its lack of large-scale investment capacity. In the context of rising geopolitical tensions, this dependence has turned into a strategic vulnerability: Europe must strengthen its own investment tools not only to grow but to safeguard its economic and technological security. Still, as Helen McBreen said, “it’s not about the US versus Europe” – a narrative she felt was being stressed throughout the day.
The strategic turn was especially evident in discussions on dual-use technologies and defense. MEP Eszter Lakos reminded that these issues lie “at the heart of this current geopolitical context”, citing Ukraine, instability in the Indo-Pacific, and growing uncertainty around NATO’s Article 5 commitments. She suggested a concept of peace through “credible deterrence.” NATO’s Director of Innovation, Nikos Loutas, praised the EU as “a special partner”, highlighting the new memorandum between the NATO Innovation Fund and the European Investment Fund as a sign of deepening cooperation. This closeness, while framed as pragmatic, underlines the EU’s current turn toward securitization and the blurring of civil innovation and military strategy. As Commissioner Hena Vikunin stated, “global AI development has […] become a question of national and European sovereignty”. Similarly, Marc Lemaître reminded that the international landscape offers cooperation opportunities, but also opens windows of “inevitable strategic competition where Europe must secure its position.”

The Peaceful Counter-Narrative of Science Diplomacy

Among the endless speeches about resilience, competitiveness, and technological sovereignty, more human voice refusing to see science as a weapon in Europe’s new geopolitical arsenal emerged.
The aforementioned Austrian minister Holzleitner focused her intervention on three pillars, one being peace. While commenting on Horizon Europe, she reminded the audience that the European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 for achieving peace in a continent destroyed and divided by two world wars. She insisted that the EU must keep pursuing science and research “regarding the broader scope of security, especially conflict resolution, peace building and peacekeeping and also peace technologies”.
Professor James Hammond, instead, shared his experience as part of an ongoing collaboration between English, American, and North Korean scientists on Mount Paektu, a volcano on the border of China and North Korea responsible for one of the biggest eruptions in Earth’s history. This project is the result of remarkable efforts from all parties as it survived sanctions and diplomatic freezes following North Korean nuclear tests. Reflecting on this long collaboration, he felt it made scientists into “science diplomats”, highlighting how science can act as a bridge in times of political tension. He reminded that “the number of sanctions is higher now than at any other time in history”, despite emerging challenges such as climate change requiring cooperation. He concluded by acknowledging the necessity of sanctions, while urging the EU to ensure that they do not harm academic institutions or research activities, calling for safeguards to accompany any future restrictive measures.
Finally, Stéphanie Balme, Director of CERI at Sciences Po, commenting on Professor Hammond’s words, urged Europe to “structure and institutionalize science diplomacy within EU foreign policy”. Reminding that the European project was founded on cooperation and the sharing of knowledge and technology, she emphasised that the EU has the power to put science and innovation at the center of a peace keeping project to face today’s geopolitical tensions.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the R&I Days mirrored Draghi’s diagnosis of Europe’s dilemma: the Union has achieved much, but certainly not enough. The discourse of innovation, once the language of progress and openness, is now inextricably tied to the logic of power, sovereignty, and defense – an evolution that mirrors the next proposed Multiannual Financial Framework, which is set to allocate €131 billion to security and defense. The message is clear: in a world where technology defines influence, Europe’s innovation agenda is no longer just about growth – it is about survival. As moderator Méabh Mc Mahon said with irony, “if you’re not on the table, you’re perhaps on the menu”. Yet, despite this strategic turn, a minority vision of hope surfaced. Voices like those of Holzleitner, Hammond, and Balme reminded that research and innovation are and should remain tools for dialogue and peace.