Latest news with #EkaterinaZaharieva
Euronews
6 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
EU Commission attempts finance boost to keep start-ups in Europe
The European Commission launched a strategy designed to foster and grow small tech start-up companies on Wednesday as part of a broader Choose Europe initiative aimed at competing with China and the US. The document sets out key actions to help companies set up and grow in the EU, including easier access to finance and infrastructure and reducing administrative burdens. Currently, some 8% of the start-ups throughout the world are based in Europe. A report by former Italian premier Mario Draghi published last year found that 61% of global funding for AI companies goes to US-based companies, 17% to Chinese and just 6% to those in the EU. To address this gap, a fund, based on a public-private partnership, will be launched by the beginning of next year to encourage start-ups to scale-up. 'Capital matters, and Europe has it. We need to connect it to the needs of the innovators,' European Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva said, while launching the strategy. 'A clear funding gap persists – to address key challenges and reduce market fragmentation, we will team up with private investors,' she added. The Commission also aims to simplify rules to set up a start-up in 24 hours and to enable companies operating across the 27 different EU member states to be subject to one business regime. The proposal also plans to reduce the cost of failure of start-up projects by addressing insolvency issues. "We have 30,000 early stage start-ups. We don't lack ideas, and we need a plan to maximise the potential,' Zaharieva said.
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
EU aims to cut red tape, boost funding to lure tech startups
The European Union set out plans to slash regulation and set up a special fund to attract tech startups as the bloc plays catchup with the U.S. on financing and innovation. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said regulatory fragmentation across the EU's 27 countries and inadequate financing were holding back growth for startups. Officials now hope to lower the administrative burden and launch a new fund to make it easier for startups to set up shop in the EU. Under the plans, the commission will seek to simplify rules, including on labor and tax law, so that startups can launch rapidly in Europe, ideally within 48 hours. Officials also plan to work with private investors to launch a new fund. The so-called Scaleup Europe Fund, privately managed and co-financed, will be part of the existing European Innovation Council Fund. 'We cut red tape, we facilitate their access to financing, we improve their ability to do business across our Single Market," Stephane Sejourne, EU executive vice-president for prosperity and industrial strategy, said in a statement. 'In other words, we want to put Europe right in the middle of the global innovation map, for companies and investors." The plan underscores efforts from EU officials to make the bloc more welcoming for startups and narrow the financing and innovation gap with the U.S. The EU is home to startups like France's Mistral AI and Germany's Aleph Alpha, but companies in the bloc struggle to raise the billions of dollars in funding and venture capital that are available to U.S. rivals like Microsoft-backed OpenAI or Anthropic. A commission official acknowledged that access to finance is an area of weakness, saying that startups in the bloc have roughly seven times less capital available to grow than in the U.S. Speed is another factor holding back growth, the official said, noting the EU can be 'very slow" in granting approvals. Europe's fragmented regulatory landscape is a recurring frustration for startups, but fundraising remains the top concern for founders, according to a May report from Slush, part of the Finnish not-for-profit Startup Foundation. Out of 607 responses from early-stage European startups collected in the first quarter, just 18% of founders said it would be easy to raise financing right now, according to the report, while 57% actively disagree. Ekaterina Zaharieva, EU commissioner for startups, research and innovation, said the plans would remove those barriers that hold back entrepreneurs. 'Europe is ready to scale up." Write to Mauro Orru at
E&E News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
Brussels wants faster visa paths to lure US researchers
BRUSSELS — The European Commission wants European countries to speed up visa procedures to attract U.S. researchers. The bloc's research ministers are set to meet May 23 to discuss their plans to attract U.S.-based researchers who want to flee the country because of the Trump administration's budget cuts in science and research. Research Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva told POLITICO's AI & Tech Summit that the Commission plans to make some proposals to improve coordination among EU member countries. Advertisement 'For example, visas, how fast we issue visas,' she said. 'We want to motivate the member states to use the tools that we have faster, because the speed also matters.'
Bloomberg
12-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
EU's Innovation Commissioner on Efforts to Boost Research
The EU's Commissioner for Research, Startups and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, tells Bloomberg's Oliver Crook that the EU is looking to boost research in areas including AI, bio-economy, quantum and cleantech. That's as the bloc has made a spending push to attract researchers, including from the United States where the Trump administration is making cuts, something Zaharieva describes as a great opportunity for Europe to attract world-class researchers. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
12-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Talks: Ekaterina Zaharieva Talks EU Investment into Research
The EU's Commissioner for Research, Startups and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, tells Bloomberg's Oliver Crook that the EU is looking to boost research in areas including AI, bio-economy, quantum and cleantech. That's as the bloc has made a spending push to attract researchers, including from the United States where the Trump administration is making cuts, something Zaharieva describes as a great opportunity for Europe to attract world-class researchers.
