Portugal and Brussels deepen push to stop tech talent drifting abroad

They want to see ambitious startups and technology firms remain rooted in Europe and with it the next generation of skilled workers in the sector.

By offering enhanced funding opportunities, they want to avoid top talent being lured to overseas markets.

The renewed commitment followed a high-profile visit to Portugal by Ekaterina Zaharieva, the European Commissioner responsible for startups, research and innovation, who held talks with government figures, academics, entrepreneurs and business leaders.

The discussions centred on how Europe might narrow the competitiveness gap with major global technology powers.

The trip also underlined Portugal's standing as one of the more successful performers among the EU's so-called ‘widening’ countries, a group of nations still building up their research capacity.

The country has so far drawn in €1.3 billion through the Horizon Europe programme, a figure that reflects its growing weight within the bloc's research and innovation agenda.

Much of the conversation turned to how member states might wean themselves off temporary pandemic-era recovery funding and instead commit to steady, long-term national spending on research.

Brussels continues to push for research and development investment equivalent to 3% of GDP across the EU, arguing that Horizon Europe money will pay dividends well into the future.

Attention also turned to the forthcoming European Research Area Act, due to be adopted before the end of 2026.

The proposed law is designed to safeguard academic freedom, ease collaboration across borders, introduce a common EU-wide employment contract for scientists, and guarantee that doctoral qualifications are recognised automatically from one member state to another.

For entrepreneurs, the European Commission is developing a scheme known as ‘EU Inc.’, a voluntary legal framework intended to let tech companies set up a single business valid across the whole of Europe in under 48 hours, sidestepping the current patchwork of 27 separate national company regimes.

Alongside this, officials confirmed plans to launch a €5 billion Scaleup Europe Fund later this year, to be run by private equity group EQT, aimed at helping deep-tech firms secure the sizeable late-stage financing - typically above €100 million - that often pushes them to seek backing outside Europe’s borders.

The visit doubled as a showcase for Portugal's own progress.

In Lisbon, talks explored how the Unicorn Factory Lisbon, launched under Mayor Carlos Moedas, has helped nurture 17 unicorn companies and drawn in international investors and talent.

Zaharieva also toured the Beato Innovation District and met founders working across artificial intelligence, healthcare and cybersecurity, discussing recurring obstacles such as funding gaps, red tape and support for women entrepreneurs.

Delox, a university spin-out that recently secured €1.6 million from the European Innovation Council, featured among the firms discussed.

The programme closed at the Champalimaud Foundation, where talks focused on its success in winning European Research Council grants and its work towards making medical imaging less environmentally damaging by 2028.

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