EU recognised as a Global Innovation Champion by the Consumer Technology Association at CES 2023

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on 5 to 8 January 2023 the Consumer Technology Association presented an innovation award that ranked the European Union among its top scorers. Jean-David Malo, director of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency accepted the accolade on behalf of Commissioner Mariya Gabriel. The recognition, delivered by CTA President Gary J. Shapiro, coincided with a high profile European presence at CES where European Innovation Council beneficiaries exhibited and the EIC co‑organised the inaugural European Night reception.

The CTA is North America’s largest technology trade association and the producer of CES, which gives the scorecard industry visibility. The association’s methodology is comparative and indicator based but it is important to note that this ranking originates from an industry body rather than an independent academic consortium or intergovernmental statistical agency. That context matters when interpreting the result and any policy implications drawn from it.

What the European Innovation Council did at CES

The European Innovation Council used CES as a platform to promote EU-backed innovation and to provide market exposure for its beneficiaries. Twenty EIC-funded companies exhibited at the European Pavilion in Las Vegas. The European Pavilion expected around 100 000 attendees and an international media presence of about 3 500 journalists and outlets. For the first time the EIC was a co-organiser of the European Night reception, a networking event convening high level representatives from national pavilions and EIC leadership to showcase European innovation to international partners.

Interpreting the recognition and what it means for EU innovation policy

Being listed as a 'Global Innovation Champion' is a useful communications moment for the European Commission and the EIC. It underlines progress in areas that matter to industry and investors and helps showcase European companies on a global stage. It also feeds into a narrative that the EU can be competitive in deep tech and digital sectors.

That said, there are several caveats and open questions. Scorecards are sensitive to the choice of indicators, weighting and the quality of source data. Industry associations advance criteria that reflect member priorities. Rankings can mask unevenness within the EU, where member states differ considerably in research intensity, venture capital availability, regulatory agility and scaleup capacity. A top score for the EU as a whole does not erase fragmentation in capital markets, shortages in late stage funding or persistent scaling bottlenecks for European deep tech firms.

Practical value for companies and next steps

For EIC beneficiaries, trade fairs like CES provide immediate value in visibility, partnership leads and investor meetings. The EIC’s Overseas Trade Fairs support and the European Pavilion reduce the logistical and financial barriers that often prevent SMEs from reaching large international audiences. The European Night reception adds a curated networking opportunity that complements exhibition floor activity.

At a policy level a favourable ranking can help justify sustained investment in research translation, regulatory reform and financing instruments. If the EU intends to convert recognition into durable advantage it needs to focus on measurable outcomes such as the number of scaleups reaching later funding rounds, the flow of private co‑investment per euro of public support and clearer metrics for jobs and export growth directly attributable to programmes like the EIC.

Recommendations and risks to watch

Policymakers and ecosystem actors should guard against treating awards and rankings as end points. Useful next steps would be to: strengthen independent, comparable metrics for innovation performance across member states; increase transparency about how public funds mobilise private capital; target measures that reduce fragmentation in capital markets; and evaluate trade fair support against concrete business outcomes.

At the same time the EIC and the Commission should continue to use global events to amplify European innovations while ensuring selection and support systems remain transparent and oriented toward measurable impact.

Key facts and timeline

Acknowledgement: This article is based on the EIC announcement of 6 January 2023 and the CTA Global Innovation Scorecard released in the context of CES 2023. The reporting adds contextual analysis of innovation policy and scorecard methodology to help interpret the significance of the recognition.