Europe’s brand new project to help startups grow – impact sector reacts to EU plan: "Boom!"

The announcement of the pan-European project group, made quietly last week, is now generating a big buzz on LinkedIn.

“Ok this might be big,” wrote one European startup organisation, The EU Inc Petition, in response.

The EU Inc Petition has long lobbied for measures to promote pan-European investment and innovation.

Now, official documents from the European Commission reveal that it wants to set up a pan-European group in 2025 to ensure there’s a more “systemic approach” to help new companies. The goal is to enable policies that help startups to grow, and to support scaleups hoping to expand their business in Europe.

These policies aim to facilitate commercialisation across the single market, improve access to capital for expansion, attract top talent, support public procurement efforts, and streamline compliance with legislation.

According to EU Inc Petition data, less than 18% of first-round investments in Europe are pan-European, compared to a more integrated approach in the US. The petition has also argued that “the complexity of navigating multiple legal systems is a key barrier”—a challenge the EU's new group could address.

“As far as we know, this is the first time a group like this has been set up at such a high political level to focus on startups,” the LinkedIn post by EU Inc Petition says. “Brussels seems serious about change for startups. Let’s hope they keep the momentum.”

Within two hours of publication, the post had garnered over 500 likes and dozens of comments, including some from the impact scene.

Berlin-based healthcare entrepreneur Noah Petermann was among those responding enthusiastically, simply writing: “Boom! 🚀”.

Others took a more measured approach.

“Hopefully this will materialise into something that actually helps the European tech ecosystem soon. Past history doesn’t however bode well for it,” commented Nuno Petro Leitao, a London-based software architect with experience in healthtech, fintech, and professional services.

From Prague, VC investor and startup mentor Katerina Manley added: “This sounds promising. I’m curious to see how quickly it will make a tangible impact on the startup ecosystem and what roadblocks—intentional or not, even well-meaning ones—individual countries might introduce. Keeping my fingers crossed, though!”

Part of a wider EU strategy

It’s still too early to tell whether this initiative will drive real change, but it aligns with the European Commission's growing emphasis on boosting European business competitiveness.

As Impact Loop highlighted in November, innovation was a key theme for European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as she began her second term leading the 27-member bloc. Von der Leyen underscored the need to close "the innovation gap" with China and the United States by reducing red tape and making it easier for startups to scale up and bring products to market.

"We will put research and innovation, science and technology at the heart of our economy," she declared.

Her speech also introduced the EU's first-ever Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, who has been tasked with helping companies deliver more solutions to the market.