New EIC Board meets in Leuven to set 2024 priorities as Horizon Europe enters its second half
- ›The newly appointed European Innovation Council Board held its first plenary on 10 and 11 January 2024 in Leuven at imec.
- ›The Board, chaired by President Michiel Scheffer, was appointed by the Commission on 13 December 2023 and will advise on EIC strategy, work programme and thematic portfolios.
- ›The first meeting prioritized the Board's 2024 work to steer EIC implementation in the second half of the 2024 to 2027 programme period.
- ›Commissioner Iliana Ivanova joined the session to discuss EIC priorities in the context of EU policies and the mid term review of Horizon Europe.
- ›Board members serve in a personal capacity for two year mandates renewable twice and the current membership includes 10 renewed and 10 new appointees with mandates lasting until December 2025.
New EIC Board holds first plenary meeting in Leuven
The new European Innovation Council Board convened for its inaugural plenary on 10 and 11 January 2024 in Leuven at imec. The board was formally appointed by the European Commission on 13 December 2023 and is led by its president Michiel Scheffer. The meeting set the Board’s priorities for 2024 and concentrated on steering the EIC’s strategy and implementation for the second half of the current programme cycle, 2024 to 2027.
What took place at the meeting
Over two days the Board established its working priorities for 2024. Discussion focused on how the Board will advise the Commission on strategy, the EIC work programme and thematic portfolios. Members also held an exchange with Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. The Commissioner joined the Board to align EIC priorities with broader EU policy questions and the mid term review of Horizon Europe, the framework programme of which the EIC is a central component.
Formal status and membership of the Board
Board members act in a personal capacity and are appointed for two year terms that can be renewed twice. The appointments are structured to promote turnover with the aim of rotating roughly one third of membership every two years. The Commission’s December 2023 decision produced a Board composed of 20 members. Ten members have renewed mandates from the 2021 to 2023 period and ten are new members drawn from a reserve list of candidates. The current mandate runs until December 2025.
| Item | Detail | Source date |
| First plenary meeting | 10 to 11 January 2024 in Leuven at imec | 11 January 2024 |
| Board appointment | Appointed by the Commission on 13 December 2023 | 13 December 2023 |
| Membership | 20 members total, 10 renewed and 10 new | 13 December 2023 |
| Mandate length | Two years renewable twice, current term until December 2025 | 13 December 2023 |
| Plenary frequency | Five to six meetings per year | 11 January 2024 |
Why this meeting matters for European innovation policy
The EIC is a central instrument within Horizon Europe tasked with identifying and supporting breakthrough and scale up innovations. The Board’s advice can influence strategic priorities, the design of work programmes and the definition of thematic portfolios. This matters because the EIC combines grant funding with equity investments through the EIC Fund and because choices made in 2024 will shape how the EIC supports deep tech and scaling activities during the remainder of the 2024 to 2027 cycle.
Governance, transparency and practical considerations
The Board is an advisory body and the Commission remains the decision maker for work programmes and funding allocations. Members act in a personal capacity, which is designed to reduce direct institutional bias. The rotation rules aim to balance continuity and renewal, but repeated renewals can also embed particular viewpoints for long periods. For stakeholders watching EIC policy, the content of Board minutes, the frequency of public statements and how the Board’s recommendations are reflected in Commission decisions will be important transparency indicators.
What to watch next
Key items to follow in 2024 include how the Board frames priorities for the remainder of the 2024 to 2027 period, how its advice is reflected in the Commission’s mid term review of Horizon Europe, and whether the Board will produce specific recommendations on areas such as deep tech scale up, geographic widening and gender balance in beneficiaries. Stakeholders should also monitor how the Board engages with the EIC Fund and with ecosystem actors to mobilise private co investment.
The Board is scheduled to hold five to six plenaries per year. Future agendas and minutes will be useful to evaluate whether the Board’s advisory role produces concrete changes in programme design and delivery. The first meeting established the procedural baseline. The real test will be whether Board advice results in measurably different choices in funding priorities and portfolio management as the EIC moves into the second half of its current programme cycle.
For more information interested readers can consult the EIC and EISMEA web pages that host Board background documents and announcements. Observers will judge the Board on its ability to reconcile political priorities, technological opportunity and the practical mechanics of supporting high risk, high reward innovation across Europe.