Private EU R&D spending drops for first time in a decade

2020 fall blamed on pandemic hitting EU’s strong automotive, aerospace and defence industries

Private R&D investment in the EU dropped for the first time in a decade in 2020, falling 2.2 per cent compared with the previous year.

In a report published by the European Commission on 17 December, the research and innovation commissioner Mariya Gabriel said the drop was due “mainly to the impact of the pandemic”.