The European Commission inaugurated a strategy on Wednesday to promote small businesses and assist them to grow in an attempt to keep these companies in Europe.
“Startups and scaleups are essential to Europe’s future, driving innovation and sustainable growth, creating high-quality jobs, attracting investment, and reducing strategic dependencies.
“Yet, despite the strong foundations, too many still struggle to take ideas from the lab to market or grow at scale within the EU,’’ the commission said at the inauguration.
While more startups were founded in the EU than in the U.S., almost 30 per cent of EU “unicorn’’ startups moved their headquarters out of the bloc over the past 15 years, ” the commission, Vice president Stéphane Séjourné, said.
According to previous information from the commission, most unicorn startups that grew to be worth more than one billion dollars moved to the U.S.
Sejourné said the aim was to seek ways to keep successful startups that were currently in their growth phase and in need of financing in the EU.
The commission envisaged 20 measures to stop companies moving abroad.
It focuses on strategic technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, advanced semiconductors, biotechnology, clean technologies and energy, defence and space, and robotics.
Regulations on insolvency, labour, and tax law are to be simplified, and companies would be able to communicate digitally with government authorities throughout the EU.
Improved financing and investment options are to be made available, and access to skilled workers is to be improved.
