Combining large datasets on patents, scientific publications, and venture capital investment (2010–2025) to map technological specialisation, research capacity, and entrepreneurial activity across the EU and selected global partners, this report analyses 15 Key Strategic Technologies (KSTs) to inform European policy on competitiveness, technological sovereignty, and international partnerships. Using indicators of technological complexity, relatedness, and revealed comparative advantage, it identifies Europe’s strengths, gaps, and opportunities for strategic collaborations.
Results show a highly concentrated global innovation landscape in digital and emerging technologies, with the United States and China dominating patenting and venture capital investment. In contrast, the European Union is a global leader in scientific output, highlighting a persistent gap between strong research capacity and weaker performance in commercialisation and scale-up.
The report concludes that strengthening investments in foundational technologies, combined with targeted partnerships with complementary innovation systems, will be essential to ensure Europe’s long-term competitiveness and technological sovereignty in the rapidly evolving global digital economy.
This CEPS In-Depth Analysis was prepared in the context of the ‘EU-US Trade and Technology Dialogue’ project funded by the European Union’. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
