Attention to the world of start-ups and business innovation is growing, as evidenced, for example, by some articles that have appeared in recent weeks in the generalist press, which traditionally devotes marginal attention to start-ups. This is a signal that should certainly be welcomed, even if the journalistic dynamics in these cases tend to start from assumptions that are not motivated by pure support for startups, but more prosaically those of criticising the government for the ineffectiveness of the so-called Startup Act 2.0 or criticising the world of finance for its lack of courage in investing in innovation, or of the unattractiveness of Europe from which startups tend to flee.
In these columns we have always tried to pose the questions, which are there, in a constructive manner, trying to find possible avenues for proposals. Even before start-ups became ‘popular’, we have always insisted that their role is structural if we want to embrace the future with conviction and, outside of rhetoric, make the world a better place. Proposals that often started from the analysis that Italy, and therefore Europe, must get a move on and must do so not only in terms of the availability of venture capital or programmes to support those who have the desire to do business and those who want to dedicate themselves to doing innovative things, but also in terms of social, regulatory and bureaucratic infrastructure. This is for two reasons: to make Europe a place where start-ups can grow and to be in a position to compete with the two biggest global competitors: the US and China, something that cannot be done if we go in random order relying only on the strength of individual national ecosystems.
Of course, the dilemma between the cession of sovereignty by national governments and the urgency of defining frameworks that are valid throughout the Union is still a knot that has not been completely untangled, but by dint of insistence something is moving and answers are beginning to arrive, at least in the intentions and in the demonstration of a clear awareness.
The first very strong, almost thunderous signal came a few days ago from the report presented by Mario Draghi. An enlightening report with the unequivocal title: ‘The future of European competitiveness’, which in ‘vulgar’ language can be read as: either you change or you die or, to refer to a film quote from Al Pacino’s monologue in the movie Every Damn Sunday, ‘either we rise up now as a collective or we will be annihilated individually’. The report is structured, consisting of two parts: Part A on strategy, and Part B containing specific recommendations.
In Part A, there is a chapter, number 2, dedicated to innovation, or rather dedicated to ‘how to close the innovation gap’ with respect to those who run faster than us, with the USA leading the way. In this chapter there is a lot of data analysing productivity, analysing venture capital, exposing how wide the difference is between the EU and the US, and analysing what are called the barriers to innovation, among them also the difficulty for start-ups to grow within the EU space due to the persistent fragmentation between national systems (it is on page 29 of the text of the report in its original English version). This is a key point: to create a European ecosystem that allows startups, scaleups, to grow faster knowing that there is a bureaucratic, legal, fiscal structure that is the same in all 27 countries would mean giving an almost instantaneous structural acceleration to all those who do innovative business, it would mean not only accelerating expansion in the markets, pursuing dimensional growth much faster and therefore also job creation, but also to cancel in one fell swoop all the reasons that still today prevent a free flow of risk capital within the EU, a flow that today is still slowed down by fears linked to the uncertainties and weaknesses that there may be in the various countries and that make the actions of investors more lukewarm than they should be, when they would be much happier to invest more knowing that regulatory barriers are no longer a potential risk and knowing that start-ups could grow faster.
It seems almost a truism: let’s join forces, let’s create a single European ecosystem: let’s accelerate the growth of innovative companies and let’s exponentially increase the competitiveness of the ecosystem itself against the rest of the world. It seems almost natural to ask oneself: ‘but why hasn’t this been done yet?’, and here we return to the tug-of-war between the creation of opportunities and the fear of a cession of sovereignty, it still needs some time but it will happen and since the realisation is now clear, thanks precisely to Mario Draghi, now the time has also come to take action and here comes another signal. This takes the form of Ekaterina Zaharieva being appointed by the President of the European Commission Ursula von del Leyen, European Commissioner for Startups and Research, and it is the first time this has happened. The first time that the European Commission, i.e. the EU government, has a commissioner, i.e. a minister, for startups.
Zaharieva is competent in the field of innovation and research having dealt with it in previous posts in her home country of Bulgaria, where she also served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister with responsibility for economic policies and reforms between 2017 and 2021. In the mission letter sent to the Commissioner by the President of the Commission, the contours of her mission are outlined and among them there is explicit and clear reference to the need to implement a European Innovation Act aimed at facilitating the development and growth of startups and scaleups and the flow of venture capital and the development of an EU strategy to support startups and scaleups that is capable of significantly improving the framework conditions.
The mission is therefore very clear and goes precisely in the desired direction, and it is for this reason that Zaharieva’s appointment was greeted with enthusiasm by the entire European start-up world, the news bounced instantly through the specialised and non-specialised media and put a smile on the faces of all those: entrepreneurs, investors, associations and every entity active in the ecosystem, who have been fighting for years to ensure that start-ups are finally seen for what they really are: the perfect vehicle for travelling the road to the future.
Also important in the context of the new Commission is the appointment of another Commissioner, Finland’s Henna Virkkunen, who in addition to being Executive Vice-President of the Commission has responsibility for technological sovereignty, security and democracy.
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