Changes from plenary report to adopted text

26. Understands that mobilising European institutional investors, notably insurance companies, banks and pension funds, is key to reducing the scale-up gap; notes that an increase in the share of venture capital funds in Europe is needed to provide more funding to scale-ups, for which a more favourable framework for venture capital financing and safe foreign direct investments in the EU is needed; calls on the Commission to encourage Member States with underdeveloped pension systems to develop supplementary (Pillar 2) pension sectors, which could help build venture capital markets, and to create a regulatory environment that promotes equity investments by institutional investors; recalls the Commission’s commitment to working on risk-absorbing measures to crowd in private funding from commercial banks, investors and venture capital;

27. Encourages the Commission to strengthen co-investment platforms, including regionally anchored vehicles and business-angel networks, to crowd in private capital and close persistent early-stage financing gaps for high-growth, innovation-driven SMEs; calls for the forthcoming European Tech-Champions Initiative 2.0 to be adequately capitalised and for dedicated EU funding schemes that support the fundraising and listing of start-ups and scale-up tech companies; underlines the EIB Group’s mandate to back SMEs, urging it to adopt a more flexible risk-assessment framework and to ensure that the new TechEU Platform is widely accessible across all Member States through streamlined procedures; agrees with the savings and investments union communication on the importance of EU-level public finance and therefore advocates a reorientation of EU funds towards fewer, more flexible programmes that can shift resources between priorities over time;

28. Highlights the importance of creating the right conditions for citizens’ savings to be channelled into productive investment instruments that can benefit SMEs and scale-ups; encourages the Commission to eliminate regulatory disincentives for retail investment products, and to ensure that retail investors are adequately protected when taking investment decisions; recognises that crowdfunding and technologies such as smart contracts and decentralised finance can broaden SMEs’ access to direct finance, and urges the Commission to review its regulatory framework with an innovation-focused, proportionate risk approach;

29. Emphasises that a more integrated innovation ecosystem, with networks of universities, start-ups, large enterprises and venture capitalists, underpinned by access to testing facilities and technology infrastructure, is instrumental in helping businesses scale up; highlights the positive role that entrepreneur forums, private accelerators and mentoring networks can play in supporting the growth of start-ups, and calls on the Commission and the Member States to build on initiatives such as the Trusted Investors Network, which aims to mobilise private capital in support of Europe’s innovation ambitions;

Reinforcement of a competitive ecosystem in the EU

30. Considers that a competitive ecosystem in the EU must be composed of both strong national markets and a strong internal market, and that healthy competition between Member States, especially in terms of economic and regulatory approaches, incentivises them to keep their economies dynamic and attractive, but recalls that Member States are not to create barriers to the efficient cross-border allocation of capital or set priorities solely on the basis of the geographical origin of funding; calls for the Commission’s initiatives to respect and build on best practices that have already been successful in the Member States;

31. Urges the Commission to focus on enabling conditions for markets, relevant common denominators for the Member States, and voluntary and complementary frameworks aimed at gradually reducing market fragmentation;

32. Calls on the Commission to clarify what the 28th legal regime would consist of and recalls that, if it were to be introduced, it would have to be voluntary, fully respect Member States’ regimes, and be developed in close cooperation with the private sector in order to offer a simplified framework that attracts private investors to European start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs and helps European start-ups become global tech champions;

33. Calls on the Commission, with the support of Member State authorities, to develop simplified guidance tools and one-stop-shops for SMEs and scale-ups in order to help them navigate different legal systems across the EU on matters such as corporate law, labour law, insolvency law, tax law, intellectual property rights and national funding possibilities; calls on the Commission, furthermore, to improve SME access-to-finance monitoring tools, including the development of EU-wide indicators and dashboards that can help them identify opportunities across Member States without creating new reporting obligations or increasing administrative burdens;

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34. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.