Sovereignty Through Effective Startup and Scaleup Policy

On July 18th, Ursula von der Leyen was elected the President of the European Commission. In her political guidelines, the foundation of her second legislative term, von der Leyen emphasizes her commitment to strengthening the European innovation ecosystem and announces the beginning of an "Investment Commission". She recognizes the structural needs for better integrating Europe’s financial markets and de-risking private investments. This clear positioning can be seen as part of a broader, lively, and extremely important debate on the future competitiveness of the European Union. Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi have provided further important impulses with two detailed reports. In this paper, we set out our views in form of a strategic roadmap for the next legislative period.

The most important proposals:

• Adaptation of a Uniform Startup Definition
• EU-wide Legal Form for Startups
• Genuine Capital Markets Union
• Reform of Public Procurement
• Expanding Research Transfer
• Streamlining Funding
• New Approach to Talent Acquisition
• Clear Responsibility for Startups within the Commission