ZEW Lunch Debate in Brussels on Start-ups in Europe

Europe has a dynamic start-up scene, yet few young companies go on to become internationally competitive scale-ups. The ZEW Lunch Debate, entitled “Where Europe Scales and Where it Doesn’t: Fixing the EU’s Growth Gap”, to be held in Brussels on 16 June 2026, will focus on the factors hindering growth and the policy levers Europe needs to strengthen its innovative capacity.

The discussion is based on a new study drawing on data from more than nine million business start-ups in Germany, France and the United Kingdom. It analyses the geographical distribution of start-up and scale-up activity and identifies key structural barriers to growth.

The focus is on questions regarding the heterogeneity of European start-up and growth locations, key barriers to scaling up, and policy reform options – for example in the areas of financing, labour, single market integration and innovation-driven ecosystems.