Why Europe struggles to turn world-class science into business

In the global race for innovation, the winners are those who can finance, test, manufacture and scale up new technologies the fastest, writes Italy's former Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, in an opinion piece for Euronews, calling for a "fifth freedom" for the EU. #EuropeNews

martedì 7 luglio 2026 New tab

By Enrico Letta, EU Rapporteur on the future of the Single Market, President of the Jacques Delors Institute, Head of the IE Competitiveness Hub in Brussels, Former Prime Minister of Italy

Published on

07/07/2026 - 16:05 GMT+2

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

Europe faces a paradox. We produce some of the best science in the world, yet we rarely build the companies that turn this science into global success. We educate brilliant researchers and entrepreneurs, only to see too many of them take their ideas abroad to grow.

Why Europe struggles to turn world-class science into business

Why Europe struggles to turn world-class science into business

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