'We won’t just compete, we’ll lead' – EU launches it's much hyped startup-scaleup strategy

"It’s time for Europe to become a startup powerhouse."

That’s the opening message of the European Commission’s most ambitious initiative yet to transform the EU into a global hub for high-growth ventures.

After months of deliberations, the Commission on Wednesday unveiled the EU's startup and scaleup strategy. The plan is designed to streamline the business environment across the continent, enhance access to finance, and stop the talent and innovation drain to the US and Asia.

Unified set of rules

At the heart of the strategy is the proposed "28th regime", a new EU-wide corporate legal framework that would allow startups to operate and scale across the bloc under a unified set of rules, bypassing the regulatory patchwork of 27 national systems.

It also includes plans to launch a privately co-financed Scaleup Europe Fund that will be part of the EIC fund, to specifically target deep tech and high-growth companies.

Willem Vriesendorp, co-founder of startup hub Norrsken Brussels, tells Impact Loop that the strategy hits most of the right notes and would cut some of the red tape that is currently holding entrepreneurs back.

"The European Commission is really using the right words and stipulating the right problems that funders and founders are currently struggling with," Vriesendorp says. "So in that sense it’s quite hopeful."

"Huge demand from the community"

The key part of the plan is the 28th regime, the idea of a more federal framework put forward in last year’s Draghi Report. Such a system would be completely digital and aims to simplify company formations and reduce legal and compliance costs that have historically hindered cross-border growth.

"There is a huge demand from the scaleup and startup community in Europe to have one cross-border recognition of their legal entities, and to create some form of ‘EU Inc.’," Vriesendorp says.

Still depends on 27 member states agreeing

The strategy is a follow-up on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s earlier pledge to make Europe a more attractive destination for innovation and entrepreneurship.

The plan aims to address some of the most persistent pain points in Europe’s startup landscape, including fragmented capital markets, limited access to growth-stage funding, uneven public procurement opportunities, and barriers to talent mobility.

Vriesendorp points out that while the Commission has the right ideas, implementing the strategy still depends on the 27 member states agreeing to give up some of their autonomy when it comes to notary policies.

"Yes, we want a 28th regime, like tomorrow," he says. "But are the member states able to overcome their national ways of working? All of the issues are being addressed here, but it still depends on whether member states are willing to give up further autonomy and go with a European substitute for the way they’ve been doing things for ages."

A DeepSeek moment?

If that implementation is successful, though, Vriesendorp says the Commission strategy really could be a major boost for the European startup scene.

"Founders want a flawless internal market in Europe. If we create that, we might be at our own DeepSeek moment in Europe," Vriesendorp says. "

He argues that the US were trying to protect their own AI dominance, and the result was DeepSeek. China innovated and made the simple chips work harder and smarter.

"Now think of Europe’s own DeepSeek scenario: If we are already building successful ventures right now under the current regime, imagine the explosion of innovation if we can get our policies and funding right. We won’t just compete, we’ll lead. The whole world will choose Europe. But we need to act fast."