The EU Commission has established project group dedicated to startups and scaleups to focus on solutions for European startups.  

The development follows earlier emphasis on greater protection and a framework that would benefit startups and scaleups. A report, titled ‘Beyond Fragmentation: Connecting Europe’s Startup Ecosystem for Growth and Innovation’, explored the challenges faced by Europe’s startup landscape such as regulatory inconsistencies, funding gaps, and limited cross-border cooperation.

It also follows the publication in late 2024 of a report on the EU’s competitivity by former President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi, which proposed a new optional status for an ‘Innovative European Company’, among others. This proposal aims to provide European startups with a harmonised legal framework that is tailored to their specificities.

The group aims to achieve several objectives, namely to support the delivery of the right framework conditions for European startups and scale-ups. 

The project group will ensure timely preparation and provide political direction for the development of the initiatives and implementation of priorities.

“It shall support the development of an EU startup and scale-up strategy to improve the framework conditions for startups and scale-ups. It shall oversee its implementation and maintain strong coordination in the preparation of its deliverables,” the official document said.

Furthermore, it will bring together building blocks for such an enabling framework, notably the 28th regime for innovation companies, measures to facilitate the commercialisation of innovations across the single market, measures to ensure that startups and scaleups can access the capital they need to finance their expansion, facilitations for midcaps to make it simpler to comply with the legislation, public procurement to support innovation and measures to help attract and retain talent and regulatory sandboxes.