President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen arrives on the day of the European Political Community summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, October 2, 2025. Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS
TURIN (Reuters) -The European Union plans to propose a single set of rules for startups next year to help the bloc's innovative companies grow and operate across the region and find it easier to retain talent, the head of EU's executive said on Friday.
Speaking at the Italian Tech Week in Turin, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Commission would present legislation in 2026 to create a “28th regime” for startups that will replace 27 separate national systems they need to navigate now.
“Too often, it is easier to expand to another continent than across Europe,” von der Leyen said.
“I want the same to be true for you as it is for a San Francisco startup scaling across the U.S.”, she said.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to strengthen Europe’s tech ecosystem, including a multi-billion euro Scaleup Europe Fund and a new “AI first” strategy to accelerate adoption of artificial intelligence across industries.
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Giulio PiovaccariEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
