The European Clusters Alliance (ECA), of which CEBR is a member, has published a joint statement on the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) together with EURADA and the Vanguard Initiative. ECA has also opened a consultation on what the future EU for Business Network should deliver, and CEBR encourages its members to take part before 30 November.
The statement was presented by ECA President Antonio Novo Guerrero at the SME & Clusters Assembly in Dublin on 3 November and published on 6 November 2026. It comes at a decisive moment: the Council has adopted its partial negotiating position on the ECF, a central instrument of the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, and the European Parliament is finalising its own.
What the statement asks for
The statement focuses on two new ECF instruments that will decide whether European funding actually reaches companies on the ground: the EU for Business Network (Articles 27–28) and the Single Market Value Chains Builder(Article 16). Its key requests include:
- Equal footing for clusters. Cluster organisations connected through the European Cluster Collaboration Platform should be recognised alongside the Enterprise Europe Network as complementary foundations of the EU for Business Network, in the operative provisions of the Regulation and not only in the recitals.
- A “no-wrong-door” network. Companies should be able to reach EU support through the local partner they already know and trust. The network should act as “a multiplier, not a gatekeeper”, with no reduction in the resources available to its constituent networks.
- A company-led, cluster-facilitated, region-enabled Value Chains Builder, co-designed with industry, clusters, regional authorities and development agencies.
- Smart specialisation and a distinct I3 instrument. Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) should be preserved as a clearly identifiable, adequately resourced instrument, linked to the Value Chains Builder.
- Predictable resources and outcome-based accountability for every delivery function, financing roles rather than labels.
Why it matters for Europe’s bioregions
Life sciences and health value chains are built across borders and depend on close cooperation between SMEs, large companies, universities, research centres, hospitals and public authorities. This is exactly the ecosystem work that CEBR’s member clusters do every day. The statement itself cites a health example: the MEDIC NEST meta-cluster, working with a regional development agency under I3, has brought 21 health start-ups to investor readiness.
Have your say: ECA consultation open until 30 November
The joint statement sets out ECA’s position. The services, calls and activities of the new EU for Business Network will be defined in the coming months, and ECA wants that work to start from the needs of the people who will use it. Its short questionnaire asks three things: which existing services work for you, which services the future Network must offer, and what is missing today.
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- Who should respond: anyone with a stake in EU-level business and cluster support, including cluster organisations, SMEs and large companies, universities and research organisations, regional and national agencies, business support organisations and investors, in the EU and beyond. Several people from the same organisation may respond.
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- Time needed: about 8 minutes. The questionnaire is in English, but open questions can be answered in any language. Answers are anonymous unless you choose to leave your contact details.
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- Deadline: 30 November 2026.
The aggregated results will be published on clustersalliance.eu in December, presented at the ECA General Assembly on 15 December 2026 and submitted to the European Commission, the European Parliament and Member States as ECA’s contribution to the design of the Network. This is an independent ECA consultation, not a European Commission consultation.
CEBR encourages its member clusters to respond and to share the questionnaire with their companies, universities and partners, so that Europe’s life sciences and health ecosystems are clearly heard.
