On Wednesday 28 May, European Commissioners Stéphane Séjourné and Ekaterina Zaharieva presented the EU’s strategy for supporting startups and scaleups. The aim is to support the growth of young innovative businesses and prevent them from moving abroad.
The Commission has therefore identified the obstacles facing these companies in the internal market and is proposing actions to gradually remove them, as indicated in a provisional version of the strategy that Agence Europe had detailed (see EUROPE 13640/10). The problems encountered relate to access to finance, the regulatory burden, access to markets, talent and infrastructure.
Access to investment. The Commission calculates that there is seven times less capital available for startups and scaleups in Europe than in the United States. There is therefore an urgent need to integrate Europe’s financial markets, and the long-awaited Savings and Investment Union will play a major role.
But to target innovative companies in particular, next year the EU wants to set up a ‘Scaleup Europe Fund’ as part of the Innovation Fund. This “cannot wait until the next Multiannual Financial Framework”, explained a European official.
The Fund is expected to mobilise private funds and enable direct equity investments in strategic sectors. In particular, it will fill gaps in funding for scaleups operating in deep tech. “It is a game-changer that will make direct investments in AI, quantum, clean tech and more strategic sectors”, said Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner responsible for startups.
In 2026, the Commission would also like to create a voluntary ‘European Innovation Investment Pact’ for large institutional investors, who could voluntarily commit to increasing the amounts they inject into venture capital.
To support investment in defence projects, the Commission has indicated that it will develop new instruments. This could include “more flexible and adaptive funding approaches for emerging defence innovators, including also from Ukraine, such as targeted support to single entities; as well as reinforcing and broadening the scope of available EU funding options, including equity and debt instruments”, explain the authors of the strategy.
Regulatory load. Simplifying rules and procedures is now a standard part of the strategy for startups and scaleups. The Commission is building on its recent announcements and initiatives in this area, such as the future ‘European Innovation Act’, which was already included in the Single Market Strategy. This text, expected in early 2026, should above all promote ‘regulatory sandboxes’, which are controlled environments in which companies can test new products or services for a limited period.
According to Ms Zaharieva, ‘regulatory sandboxes’ also “help (...) build trust with authorities, attract investment and, when used for local projects, can grow communities”.
The launch of the European portfolio, the 28th regime and the review of the rules on standards are also highlighted in the Startup and Scaleup Strategy.
Announcements are made in the ‘access to talent’ section, including the adoption of a visa strategy to attract students, researchers, entrepreneurs and highly skilled workers from third countries (see EUROPE 13640/10).
See the strategy: https://aeur.eu/f/h3e (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)