On 28 May 2025 the EU Commission unveiled its Startup and Scaleup Strategy. The Strategy aims to make Europe a great place to start and grow global technology-driven companies. It will anchor itself in the broader “Choose Europe” initiative which launched on 5 May at Sorbonne University in Paris and aims to position Europe as a global hub for scientific research and innovation.
The strategy sets out a set of actions in five main areas:
Fostering innovation-friendly environment
In order to achieve this goal the EU will seek to address market fragmentations and administrative burdens by proposing, among other things, a European 28th Regime (as had been announced in the “Competitiveness Compass“ in January) to simplify rules and reduce the cost of failure by addressing critical aspects in areas like insolvency, labour and tax law. It will create a European Business Wallet to facilitate digital interactions with public administrations. It will also support and promote regulatory sandboxes through the upcoming European Innovation Act to allow startups to assess innovations in a controlled environment with the with the flexibility to experiment with new business models and technologies without being constrained by existing regulations.
Driving better financing
The EU identified access to financing as a key challenge. While investments by VC funds in Europe have improved over the last decade, investment levels into European tech companies continue to be below investment levels in other global jurisdictions. To tackle this the EU identifies the Savings and Investments Union initiative (which aims to properly integrate the EU’s fragmented capital markets into a genuine single market) as a key action. This will be complemented by the expansion and simplification of the European Innovation Council (a body set up under Horizon Europe with an allocated 10 billion euro budget for supporting and financing the scale up of start-ups and SMEs involved in breakthrough technologies and “game changing innovations”). Additionally the EU plans on deploing a Scaleup Europe Fund to help bridge the financing gap of deep tech scale-up companies, and develop a voluntary European Innovation Investment Pact to mobilise large institutional investors to invest in EU funds, venture capital funds and unlisted scaleups.
Supporting market uptake and expansion
In order to address the challenge of market access for startups, the strategy introduces the Lab to Unicorn initiative, designed to facilitate the commercialisation of research findings. This framework will aim to provide support to leading startup and scaleup hubs, and establish a blueprint for "licensing, royalty- and revenue-sharing, and equity participation for academic institutions and their inventors,". Guidance will also be provided when it comes to State aid IP-related rules.
Additionally, under this pillar, the Commission commits to overhauling public procurement. The goal is to simplify regulations to streamline access to procurement for startups, considering their specific needs. The strategy promises dedicated efforts to revise the EU procurement directive in the defence and security sectors.
Attracting and retaining top talent
in alignment with the Choose Europe for Science initiative, the startups plan seeks to retain and attract top talent to the bloc. To this end, the Commission intends to launch a Blue Carpet Initiative.
In the coming months, under this initiative, EU executives plan a series of actions. At the forefront is the strengthening of entrepreneurial education. Additionally, the Commission aims to create a blueprint for an academic career development framework that rewards the commercialisation of research. Furthermore, it will explore the best ways to implement employee stock options for startups and remove tax obstacles for remote cross-border employees.
Facilitating access to infrastructure, networks and service
Finally, in order to facilitate access to infrastructure, networks and services, the Commission will develop a “Charter of Access for industrial users to research and technology infrastructures” to simplify and harmonise diverging access and contractual conditions for startups and scaleups to technology and research infrastructures. This will be supplemented by the European Innovation Act and the provision of guidance on applicable state aid rules.
Next steps
The EU’s strategy will now be working on creating a new framework to implement and track progress. This will involve the Commission proposing a new definition of startups, scaleups and innovative companies, esybalihsing a European Startup and Scaleup Scoreboard, and carrying out an annual startup and scaleup survey.
The strategy which further fleshes out the EU’s Competitiveness Compass presents a positive development which will hopefully allow for more funding and opportunities for companies operating in the EU’s single market.
techUK will monitor the implementation of the strategy and flag relevant opportunities.
For more information, please contact:
Theophile Maiziere
Policy Manager - EU, techUK
Theo joined techUK in 2024 as EU Policy Manager. Based in Brussels, he works on our EU policy and engagement.
Theo is an experienced policy adviser who has helped connect EU and non-EU decision makers.
Prior to techUK, Theo worked at the EU delegation to Australia, the Israeli trade mission to the EU, and the City of London Corporation’s Brussels office. In his role, Theo ensures that techUK members are well-informed about EU policy, its origins, and its implications, while also facilitating valuable input to Brussels-based decision-makers.
Theo holds and LLM in International and European law, and an MA in European Studies, both from the University of Amsterdam.
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Sabina Ciofu is Associate Director – International, running the International Policy and Trade Programme at techUK.
Based in Brussels, she leads our EU policy and engagement. She is also our lead on international trade policy, with a focus on digital trade chapter in FTAs, regulatory cooperation as well as broader engagement with the G7, G20, WTO and OECD.
As a transatlanticist at heart, Sabina is a GMF Marshall Memorial fellow and issue-lead on the EU-US Trade and Technology Council, within DigitalEurope.
Previously, she worked as Policy Advisor to a Member of the European Parliament for almost a decade, where she specialised in tech regulation, international trade and EU-US relations.
Sabina loves building communities and bringing people together. She is the founder of the Gentlewomen’s Club and co-organiser of the Young Professionals in Digital Policy. Previously, as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, she led several youth civic engagement and gender equality projects.
She sits on the Advisory Board of the University College London European Institute, Café Transatlantique, a network of women in transatlantic technology policy and The Nine, Brussels’ first members-only club designed for women.
Sabina holds an MA in War Studies from King’s College London and a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge.
Policy Manager for International Policy and Trade, techUK
Daniel Clarke
Policy Manager for International Policy and Trade, techUK
Dan joined techUK as a Policy Manager for International Policy and Trade in March 2023.
Before techUK, Dan worked for data and consulting company GlobalData as an analyst of tech and geopolitics. He has also worked in public affairs, political polling, and has written freelance for the New Statesman and Investment Monitor.
Dan has a degree in MSc International Public Policy from University College London, and a BA Geography degree from the University of Sussex.
Outside of work, Dan is a big fan of football, cooking, going to see live music, and reading about international affairs.
Theo joined techUK in 2024 as EU Policy Manager. Based in Brussels, he works on our EU policy and engagement.
Theo is an experienced policy adviser who has helped connect EU and non-EU decision makers.
Prior to techUK, Theo worked at the EU delegation to Australia, the Israeli trade mission to the EU, and the City of London Corporation’s Brussels office. In his role, Theo ensures that techUK members are well-informed about EU policy, its origins, and its implications, while also facilitating valuable input to Brussels-based decision-makers.
Theo holds and LLM in International and European law, and an MA in European Studies, both from the University of Amsterdam.
Lewis' programmes cover a range of policy areas within Market Access (international trade regulation, sanctions and export controls, technical standards and product compliance, supply chains) and Consumer Tech (media and broadcast policy, consumer electronics, and connected home technology).
Prior to joining techUK, Lewis worked in government affairs and policy roles for international trade associations in Southeast Asia including the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and the European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia.
He holds an undergraduate degree in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in Public Policy & Management from SOAS University of London.
Tess joined techUK as an Policy and Public Affairs Team Assistant in November of 2024. In this role, she supports areas such as administration, member communications and media content.
Before joining the Team, she gained experience working as an Intern in both campaign support for MPs and Councilors during the Local and General Election and working for the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. As well as working for multiple charities on issues such as the climate crisis, educational inequality and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). Tess obtained her Bachelors of Arts in Politics and International Relations from University of Nottingham.
