This paper underlines the part that eco-innovations can play with regards to competitiveness, in particular in the economic space of Europe. The first part identifies main international tendencies in emergence with the characters of eco-innovations,which is linked to levers increasing their performance. The second part offers a prospective vision of what will be the most probable eco-innovations in the middle and long term, in order to understand the developmental position of the various countries, as well as their principal markets. We finish by identifying the obstacles to avoid and the precautions to take in order to make sure that eco-innovation is not guided solely by economic considerations, and that it obeys the principles of equity and societal acceptability at the base of sustainable development.