Ekaterina Zaharieva, a former member of parliament from Bulgaria will become the European Union’s new Startup commissioner with the objective to improve the EU’s competitiveness and help European entrepreneurs become more innovative.
Most analysts claim that Europe is falling behind both the US and China as it does not have the tools to allow for more investment in new technologies, so that Europeans can innovate and develop new skills and have a clear focus on the most important and disruptive innovation needed for our competitiveness, security, and sustainability goals.
While the mission is ambitious and laudatory, and mitigating expensive and cumbersome regulations that inhibit smaller firms should be a top priority, tax policy can play a key role. This includes lower capital gains, competitive corporate tax, and possible exemptions that encourage investors to take risks. The UK’s EIS, SEIS, and VCT programs are worth a review.
Europe has fallen behind the US and the UK. While the US and China are producing innovative companies at the frontline of technology, the EU has become better known for its policies of attacking successful firms, as opposed to creating them.
