The annual European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) provides a comparative assessment of the research and innovation performance of EU Member States and selected third countries, and the relative strengths and weaknesses of their research and innovation systems. It helps countries assess areas in which they need to concentrate their efforts in order to boost their innovation performance. This year’s EIS reveals that the EU’s innovation performance continues to increase at a steady pace. Further overall improvement is expected in the short-term, but progress remains uneven within the EU. The EIS 2020 report is the first edition published since the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and all results for the EU are for the current 27 Member States.