Many of the big EU grants are very broad, so you can bring nearly any project and argue your case. Sure, certain things increase your chance of acceptance, and

Many of the big EU grants are very broad, so you can bring nearly any project and argue your case. Sure, certain things increase your chance of acceptance, and those don't always align with industry needs, but the same can be said about any funding source. It's not like VCs are known for wisely allocating money according to industry needs either. What matters is giving enough projects a chance and letting the market solve the rest. EU grants do have other issues and are difficult as your sole source of money. But I don't think funneling everyone away from industry needs is one of them.