Europe produces strong research and a growing number of start-ups, but too few companies successfully scale up into global players. 

EU policy-makers, industry leaders and innovation experts took part in a debate at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on improving the ‘innovation to market’ journey and on addressing barriers for start-ups in the EU, calling for sweeping reforms.

‘Europe needs to reinforce innovation and research and catch up with commercialising the products of these efforts through spin-offs, start-ups and scale-ups. We must also retain talent in Europe and free start-ups from the need to search for financing outside the EU to address the traditional risk-averse culture and to celebrate entrepreneurship in all its forms,’ EESC president Séamus Boland said opening the debate.

In its opinion on the EU Start-up and scale-up strategy – with a focus on the European Innovation Act, adopted at the plenary, the EESC called for decisive action to strengthen Europe’s innovation field, where fragmented rules, slow administration and regulatory complexity are holding back start-ups and scale-ups across the EU.

Andrea Ticheru, from the European Commission's Task Force on Startups and Scaleups and lead for the European Innovation Act, said that the EU had record levels of company creation in 2025 and a solid research base. However, different barriers were slowing down the transition to the market stage. Also, funding was often concentrated at the research stage, leaving a critical gap later in the development process.

Public procurement remains an underutilised tool. 'Basically, we are investing five times less than the US and South Korea in the public procurement of research and development,' she said. At the same time, only one third of university patent applications are successfully commercialised.

Mohammad Iranmanesh, Managing Director of constellr Belgium, argued that 'In Europe we don’t really have an innovation problem… what we have is a scaling problem,' emphasising that speed and simplification should be central policy goals.

Stefan Dobrev, from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), stressed that fragmentation across markets and regulations continues to hinder innovation, making it difficult for start-ups to operate seamlessly across borders. 

Reinhilde Veugelers, senior fellow at Bruegel, warned of a 'long-standing innovation gap on private spending' and argued that Europe lacks fast-scaling companies capable of challenging global competitors. Her proposed 'Regime Zero' framework would include fully digital company incorporation, simplified bankruptcy rules, and improved equity compensation systems to attract talent.

Agnès Mathis, Director of Cooperatives Europe, called for stronger investment in education and cross-disciplinary skills, alongside greater recognition of diverse business models, including cooperatives. She pointed out that cooperative start-ups can have higher survival rates but often struggle to access funding due to limited understanding among investors. (ll)