The ‘Innovation Union’ is a undertaking by the EU to make Europe a more innovation-friendly continent. Research-intensive universities (RIUs) will play a crucial role in this Innovation Union, since they are e.g. hubs of creativity. However, the RIUs recent research efforts have impoverished. LERU emphasises that the EU can support these universities, e.g. by creating a barrier-free space for European researchers to move around in. Universities and RIUs are part of the larger innovation ecosystem. That innovation ecosystem consists of four main headings, namely: competitively driven research; dynamic entrepreneurship; competitive, fair market environments; and adequate financial resources. LERU proposes that the EU, in order to create a better innovation-friendly environment, should stimulate these four driving forces and focus on their combination and interaction.