Brussels, Belgium, 15 December 2015 – EBN participated last week in the 7th European Innovation Summit, that took place in Brussels from 7th to 10th December. David Tee, Head of Membership at EBN, moderated a panel on the subject of “Innovation ecosystems: Startups, Incubators and Venture Capital in Europe” in a session hosted by MEP Cora Van Nieuwenhuizen, with expert contributions from the European Commission, ESA, the European Institute of Technology and more. Several other EBN Members took part in the Summit.

The panel gathered a number of European stakeholders in the field of innovation policy, from both private and public entities, at the European level to the city level. The session started with a detailed presentation from Prof. Erik Vermeulen of Tilburg University followed by Isidro Laso Ballesteros, Head of Startup Europe Sector at the European Commission, Sylvie Bove, CEO of EIT Health, Frank Salzgeber, Head of Tech Transfer at ESA and EBN Board Member, and Gabriele Tatzberger, Head of Startup Services at the Vienna Business Agency. The session elaborated on the next steps towards a truly sustainable European innovation ecosystem, as well as giving options for the necessary framework conditions that governments and policy makers must develop to make it a reality.

Following the panel, David Tee stated: “It is clear from the broad agreement in the panel that European innovation ecosystems must work more closely together in order to compete as a large single player. London, Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam have clear individual strengths, but together they provide a world-beating environment for startups. Encouraging pan-European actions will increase the likelihood of successful, high-growth, high-employment businesses.”

EBN will continue promoting the role of EU|BICs as a key tool to deliver a true ‘European innovation eco-system’. In a workshop organised by the Committee of the Regions and the European Commission, on the 26th January 2016 in Brussels, EBN and several members (BIC Euronova, WestBIC, JIC and Forum Virium) will showcase their sustainable model of innovative business support, in a session entitled “Business Creation and Growth”.