The European Commission has launched a bold new initiative aimed at transforming Europe into the world’s best destination for startups and scale-ups.
Titled “Start and Expand Europe,” this comprehensive strategy is designed to remove sustainable barriers, unlock funds, attract the best talent, and create an environment where innovative, technology-driven companies can thrive from day one to global expansion.
Part of the broader “European Choice” campaign, the new strategy reflects a unified vision to strengthen the European innovation ecosystem and position the EU as a global powerhouse for entrepreneurship and sustainable growth.
Ekaterina Zaharieva, commissioner of startups, research and innovation, explained: “The EU startup and scale-up strategy is a clear statement of purpose.
“This strategy will transform Europe’s rich creativity, research and ambitions into thriving new companies, quality work and real-world impacts.
“Five concrete actions remove barriers to entrepreneurship. Europe is ready to shrink.”
A united vision for growth in Europe
Selecting Europe by starting and scale is aimed at empowering startups and scale-ups.
These high potential companies are crucial in attracting investment, reducing strategic dependence and driving the EU’s competitiveness at the global stage.
Despite the strong fundamentals and a vibrant entrepreneurial landscape, many European startups still face hurdles in access to funds, cross-borders and navigation into complex regulatory environments.
The newly announced strategy aims to support these ventures at every stage of development.
Removes barriers and simplifies growth
One of the key goals of the strategy is to promote a more innovation-friendly environment by addressing fragmentation and excessive bureaucracy.
The committee is set to introduce Europe’s 28th government. This is an optional legal framework that simplifies rules in areas such as tax, labor and bankruptcy laws.
Furthermore, European business wallets allow streamlined digital interactions between startups and government agencies through a unified digital identity, making cross-border operations more efficient.
To further encourage regulatory innovation, the upcoming European Innovation Act will promote the use of regulatory sandboxes, allowing new ideas to be tested in a controlled environment with risks and reduced red tape.
Unlock capital and scaling deep technology
The central challenge for startups and scaling up is access to fundraising, especially when expanding deep tech ventures. The EU plans to create a more integrated venture capital market through its Savings and Investment Union Initiative.
This will be supplemented by the expanded and simplified European Innovation Council, the new Scale-Up European Fund, and the European Innovation Investment Agreement aimed at bringing large institutional investors back to private startups and scale-ups. These measures are designed to bridge the gap between early innovation and later commercialization.
Accelerating innovation from labs to markets
The committee is launching a “unicorn to unicorn lab” initiative designed to quickly track the commercialization of academic research.
At the heart of this is the creation of European startups and scale-up hubs. This will connect the university ecosystem across the EU and encourage the creation of IP-based spinoffs.
The new blueprint and guidance will help agencies share license revenue and fairness with inventors while complying with state aid rules.
Attract talent and build infrastructure
To address the talent shortage, this strategy presents a Blue Carpet initiative focusing on entrepreneurial education, employee stock options, and streamlined immigration paths for non-EU founders.
Promoting the Blue Card Directive and encouraging member countries to adopt first-track visas will help Europe become more attractive to global innovators.
Additionally, the EU will deploy a charter of access to simplify and harmonize the way startups access key research and industrial infrastructure, reducing time to market for groundbreaking technology.
To measure success, the committee will use a comprehensive report on implementation by the end of 2027 to monitor progress using global performance indicators.
This robust new strategy lays the foundation for a more competitive, cohesive and innovative future. When it comes to startups and scale-ups, it makes clear that Europe means business.
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