Today, perhaps more than ever, Europe is torn between several priorities, all of which are equally high. Challenges we face become only more complex and grandeur with time. To some of them - innovation is able to respond. Europe has a strong commitment to innovation. It sees the crucial role innovation can play in its economy on the long run. To celebrate and manifest this commitment 7th European Innovation Summit took place from 7-10 December 2015 in the European Parliament in Brussels.

At the heart of this summit was the launch of the Pact for Innovation: a brave initiative of the knowledge4innovation, supported by key innovation stakeholders and European Institutions. The goal of the Pact for Innovation is to support and enhance a direct collaboration between stakeholders and policy makers.

The signatories of the Pact share a common vision of a globally competitive, agile Europe, supported by success of its industry, academia and entrepreneurship.  They have an ambition to create a healthy, innovation-driven economy, able to take risks and win, thus bringing a long-term prosperity to this continent.

The Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, welcomed the Pact and invited Knowledge4Innovation for a close cooperation.

The President of the European Committee of the Regions, Markku Markkula commented on the Pact for Innovation: "As President of the European Committee of the Regions, the EU assembly of 350 regional and local political representatives, I welcome initiatives like the Pact on Innovation which is today proposed by members of the European Parliament. I am also glad that the Pact takes on board the need to work at EU and national but also at regional and local level in order to achieve growth and jobs. For this to happen we need to effectively orchestrate innovation ecosystems at all levels. We need to move from strategies and planning into concrete action to boost innovation policies on the ground. I will pass on this message to all members of the European Committee of the Regions and propose them to support this initiative."

The Chair of the K4i Forum Governing Board Lambert van Nistelrooij explained that ‘The Pact for Innovation’ embodies the concept for a bottom-up entrepreneurial spirit in European regions and cities. According to him "The initiative of the 'Pact for Innovation' will lead to a stronger EU wide commitment and a closer cooperation in the field of innovation in the European Union. We focus on the achievements at all levels in the EU. We will work on a targeted revision on the EU 2020 strategy in 2016, together with strong performance based programmes for innovation in the years to come."

A special focus of the Summit was on youth involvement in order to spark a debate which provided constructive, sustainable and precise contributions to future EU-policy making. Young innovators from all over Europe  actively engaged with policy-makers and innovation leaders. The Summit served these young innovators as a unique platform to enhance cross-border networking. 

The Summit was covered extensively via social media providing everyone with the possibility to participate in the debates. Follow us on Facebook (Knowledge4Innovation) and Twitter (@k4innovation), and join the conversation by using the hashtags #7EIS or #inpact. 

For more information on the Summit, please click here.