EU startup and scale-up strategy to be ready by summer
The EU is under increasing pressure between the power blocs of the USA and China and, as we have recently seen, is not competitive in important future technologies such as AI: Ursula von der Leyen’s EU Commission is under enormous pressure to give new impetus to the European economy. As part of a new “compass for competitiveness”, a major startup and scale-up strategy has now been announced.
“With an EU strategy specifically tailored to start-ups and scale-ups, the obstacles that stand in the way of the creation and expansion of new companies are being addressed,” says the EU Commission. Central to this appears to be a new form of company law for young companies, which is to have the same rules across the EU.
“A proposal for a 28th legal order will simplify the existing rules, including relevant aspects of company law, insolvency, labor, and tax law, and reduce the costs of failure. Innovative companies will thus be able to enjoy the benefits of a single set of rules wherever they invest and carry out their activities in the internal market,” the European Commission says.
EU Commission announces determined fight against bureaucracy
Improve access to venture capital
What exactly will be part of this startup strategy is currently only vaguely outlined. “First, it aims to improve relations between universities and companies and create better prospects for the commercialization of patents. It will remove obstacles created by a lack of access to venture capital, a fragmented internal market, and the limited availability and mobility of talent and skilled workers, as well as insufficiently targeted innovation support,” the Commission says.
Several things are likely to be central: firstly, a new legal form for start-ups, and secondly, the issue of financing. The “Savings and Investments Union” is intended to enable more private capital (it is to be presented as early as Q1 2025), and a TechEU investment program as a partnership between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and private investors is intended to be a new lever.
The startup and scale-up strategy is to be presented by the EU Commission in Q2 2025, i.e. before the summer. However, the planned EU company legal form under the slogan “28th regime” will not be part of it; its presentation is only planned between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. As reported, a group around the Austrian founder and investor Andreas Klinger has made a proposal for an “EU Inc.“, which, among other things, should do without a notary and minimum capital.
