Text · Comparison of two versions
Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report
ECON-PR-772123 → A-10-2025-0185
- From
- ECON-PR-772123 report parliamentary committee draft of 13 May 2025
- To
- A-10-2025-0185 Plenary report of 2 Oct 2025
- Changes
- 17 changes to the text
- Paragraphs
- +37 added · −18 removed · 14 changed
More facts (3)
- Dossier
- 2025/2072(INI)
- Title (from)
- on access to finance for SMEs and scale-ups
- Title (to)
- on access to finance for SMEs and scale-ups
AI: What changed, in short Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Adds extensive new content on regulatory burdens, bank lending, and the need for simplification, including calls to review Green Deal obligations.1234 Expands measures to mobilise private capital, including retail investment, pension funds, and venture capital, with new calls on EuVECA and tax incentives.78910 Strengthens the focus on scale-up financing gaps and the role of the EIB Group, co-investment platforms, and the TechEU Platform.1012 Adds clarifications on the 28th regime, guidance tools, and the balance between national and internal markets.13141516 The other changes are formal or wording: renumbering and minor rephrasing.6
The notes class 16 changes as substance, 0 as formal, 1 as wording only.
Changes that matter, 17
Changes to the text in document order — the ones the change notes describe. Cover page, renumbering and punctuation-only edits are left out (see “Every difference”); changes to citations and references stay in and are marked as formal in the notes.
Change 1
RemovedB. whereas European SMEs vary in scope, location, ownership, and innovation capacity, and hence face diverse challenges and financing needs;
AddedB. whereas the EU as a whole – and especially its largest economies – is currently experiencing slow economic growth and problems as companies are losing competitiveness to third countries, aggravated by the consequences of the pandemic, the energy crisis and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which have particularly affected SMEs and the economies of countries along the EU’s eastern border;
RemovedC. whereas the Draghi report indicates that regulatory obstacles and administrative burdens are among the greatest challenges faced by SMEs and recommends that SMEs be exempted from regulations on proportionality grounds;
AddedC. whereas European SMEs vary in scope, industry, financial needs, location, ownership, business model, and innovation capacity, and hence face diverse challenges and financing needs, with limited capacity to face them; whereas most European SMEs operate mainly at national level; whereas relatively few SMEs are involved in cross-border operations within the EU, while those that export outside the Union constitute a minority;
RemovedD. whereas the Commission aims to improve access to finance for SMEs in order to increase scale, reduce inefficiencies and promote interoperability, and has set a target of at least a 35 % reduction in the reporting burdens for SMEs, and announced a new SME competitiveness check in impact assessments;
AddedD. whereas the Draghi report indicates that regulatory obstacles and administrative burdens are among the greatest challenges faced by SMEs, with reporting regulations, mostly under the European Green Deal, being seen by more than 60 % of EU companies as an obstacle to investment, and 55 % of SMEs flagging regulatory obstacles and administrative burden as their greatest challenge, while the proportion is even greater for start-ups and micro-enterprises, and recommends that SMEs be exempted from regulations on proportionality grounds, with a more simple, predictable and competitive regulatory framework and a review of the European Green Deal being key for their prosperity;
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RemovedE. whereas Europe lacks a more dynamic and favourable environment for innovative companies to scale-up, which leads to close to 30 % of ‘unicorns’ relocating abroad;
AddedE. whereas the Commission aims to improve access to finance for SMEs in order to increase scale, reduce inefficiencies and promote interoperability, and has set a target of at least a 35 % reduction in the reporting burdens for SMEs, and announced a new SME competitiveness check in impact assessments; whereas these initiatives must be accompanied by a well-developed venture capital ecosystem, keeping in mind that institutional investors such as insurance companies make an important contribution to SME financing through the passing and transformation of risks, and also keeping in mind the fact that, unlike in the United States, most of the financing in the European Union comes from banks, and there are noticeable disparities between the European investment culture and other regions of the world, notably for venture capital and angel investment; whereas this situation makes SMEs particularly vulnerable to a tightening of bank lending;
AddedF. whereas Europe lacks a more dynamic and favourable environment for innovative companies to scale-up and for further investment and advancements in digital infrastructure, which leads to close to 30 % of ‘unicorns’ relocating abroad;
AddedG. whereas the Commission has published a strategy for start-ups and scale-ups, and there are various initiatives in place aimed at promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and digital transformation in the EU, such as the start-up and scale-up strategy, the eco-innovation scoreboard, Knowledge and Innovation Communities, the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, the Digital Decade and the digital single market strategy, as well as funding programmes dedicated to innovation in other policy areas;
AI: Note on change 1 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Replaces the description of SME diversity with a new text adding economic slowdown and competitiveness loss, and adds new recitals on the Draghi report, Commission initiatives, and scale-up environment.
Change 2
Changed1. Considers that creating favourable market conditions for European companies to innovate, start up, create, grow and scale up in Europe is essential to unlock our market’s full potential and help our economies become more competitive; acknowledges that regulatory fragmentation is one of the obstacles preventing scale-ups from reaching the full potential of the single market; recognises that SMEs face unequal financing conditions and requirements across Member States and regions, due to factors specific to each business, geographical location – such as being located in remote, outermost, and island areas – and the economic environment, and they therefore need solutions tailored to such particularities, as well as to the needs of the smaller economies;
AI: Note on change 2 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Adds acknowledgement of regulatory fragmentation and unequal financing conditions for SMEs across Member States, including remote and island areas.
Change 3
Removed2. Welcomes the fact that, following the Draghi and Letta reports, the need for a more competitive and less bureaucratic single market has been recognised;
Added2. Welcomes the fact that, following the Draghi and Letta reports, the need for a more competitive, less fragmented and less bureaucratic single market has been recognised; calls on the Commission to take into consideration the recommendations in these reports, which state that immediate and decisive action at both regulatory and political level is required; regrets, in this regard, the excessive burdens SMEs have experienced as a consequence of the implementation of various obligations under the European Green Deal; is convinced that dedicated definitions of start-ups and scale-ups would increase the opportunities for support through measures that are tailored to their specific needs;
Removed3. Stresses that the EU should strive to make the business environment easier for European entrepreneurs and to create a scale-up ecosystem that relies primarily on private investments;
Added3. Acknowledges that bank lending remains the primary external financing source for SMEs in the Union; underlines the vital role of traditional banking models, including small regional banks, savings banks, cooperative banks and public institutions;
Removed4. Draws attention to the particular challenges faced by European scale-ups in obtaining late-stage growth financing; notes that many high-potential EU firms remain dependent on foreign venture capital and investors, with a large share of later funding rounds led by non-European investors;
Added4. Stresses that the EU should strive to make the business environment easier and more attractive for the mobilisation of both European and international capital and investment; stresses the need to foster a scale-up ecosystem that relies primarily on private investments and public-private partnerships, which would help to mobilise capital and facilitate access to finance for businesses; underlines the important and well-developed role of banks with specific regional and local knowledge in providing funding to SMEs, which stems from long-term relationships with these companies;
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Removed5. Considers that facilitating access to finance for SMEs and scale-ups will depend on (i) the significant reduction in bureaucratic and regulatory burdens, (ii) the enhanced capacity to unlock private investment and savings, (iii) bridging the funding gap for scale-ups, and (iv) reinforcing a competitive capital markets ecosystem within the EU;
Added5. Draws attention to the particular challenges faced by European scale-ups in obtaining late-stage growth financing; notes that many high-potential EU firms remain dependent on foreign venture capital and investors, with a large share of later funding rounds led by non-European investors; highlights the need to create more attractive conditions for investment within the Union; stresses that access to finance should be guided by criteria of economic efficiency, profitability and scalability, regardless of the origin of the capital, and recalls that open and global competition to attract investment benefits businesses and innovation; highlights, in this regard, the recent adoption of the EU Listing Act that makes it simpler for companies of all sizes, including SMEs, to be listed on European stock exchanges;
Added6. Takes note of the publication by the Commission of the European start-up and scale-up strategy, which should promote innovation and address the challenges faced by individual innovators, founders, start-ups and scale-ups in the EU; stresses that, although the diagnosis contained in the strategy is to some extent accurate, the proposed measures must be more ambitious, with emphasis being placed on repealing all EU regulations that impose unnecessary bureaucratic burdens that hinder the creation and expansion of businesses; asks the Commission to include agriculture among the priority sectors identified in the strategy;
Added7. Considers that facilitating access to finance for SMEs and scale-ups will depend on (i) a significant and continued reduction in bureaucratic and regulatory burdens, including lengthy permitting procedures, costly reporting requirements, and the complexity and unpredictability of the regulatory environment, (ii) an enhanced capacity to unlock private investment and savings, (iii) bridging the funding gap for scale-ups, and (iv) reinforcing a competitive capital markets ecosystem within the EU; stresses that, for these purposes, the final goal of the Commission must be the completion of a savings and investments union that respects the competences of the Member States and the principle of subsidiarity;
AI: Note on change 3 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Adds calls for action on Draghi and Letta recommendations, regrets Green Deal burdens, and adds new paragraphs on bank lending, scale-up ecosystem, and access to finance criteria.
Change 4
Changed6.8. Recalls that many promising European start-ups and scale-ups are relocating to non-EU countries because of a burdensome, slowslow, fragmented and unpredictable European regulatory landscape; underlines that, unless this trend is reversed through substantial simplification, Europe will continue to lose companies at their most strategic growth stage;stage, leading to less job creation and slower economic growth; deplores the fact that tax and regulatory thresholds discourage business growth by imposing more burdensome treatment once certain levels of size or turnover are exceeded;
AI: Note on change 4 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Expands the paragraph on relocation to include consequences like less job creation and deplores tax and regulatory thresholds that discourage growth.
Change 5
Removed7. Calls for further simplification efforts that go beyond the Commission’s omnibus simplification package published on 26 February 2025;
Added9. Calls for further simplification efforts and encourages the Commission to put forward subsequent proposals that go beyond the its omnibus simplification packages and that establish start-up-friendly regulations and frameworks that facilitate the growth, scalability and cross-border operations of start-ups and scale-ups, while ensuring consumer protection, data privacy and fair competition; recalls the Commission’s commitment to reducing bureaucracy through a horizontal approach, across all areas, and calls for the systematic screening of the EU acquis in order to identify and eliminate regulatory obstacles to SMEs;
Removed8. Urges the Commission to assess existing regulatory obligations that are burdening companies, such as the sustainable finance framework, and to develop proportionality thresholds to exempt SMEs from excessive obligations; welcomes the proposed new SME competitiveness check;
Added10. Emphasises, following the adoption by the Commission of the Second Omnibus Package, the need for streamlined processes in the implementation of the InvestEU programme to ensure that SMEs – including the smallest ones – can more easily access the financial support they need to grow and innovate; emphasises the importance of ensuring that regulatory frameworks and EU-funded instruments are proportionate to the size and administrative capacity of SMEs, and are appropriately adapted to SMEs, rather than being replicated from requirements for larger companies;
Removed9. Stresses that the ‘one-in, one-out’ approach is not enough, and calls on the Commission to propose an ambitious simplification strategy;
Added11. Notes that imposing multiple regulatory requirements on banks can negatively impact SME lending; stresses the importance of avoiding duplicate reporting requirements and multiple reporting channels, which impose unnecessary administrative burdens, particularly on smaller banks; calls on the Commission, with assistance from the European Banking Authority and the Single Supervisory Mechanism, to assess the effects of current regulatory rules on SME lending; underscores the necessity of applying the proportionality principle in banking regulation;
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Added12. Urges the Commission to assess existing regulatory obligations that are burdening companies, such as the sustainable finance framework, which is a poor fit for European SMEs, and other obligations stemming from the European Green Deal, and to develop proportionality thresholds to exempt SMEs from excessive obligations; welcomes the proposed new SME competitiveness check; calls on the Commission to ensure that any sustainability reporting standards are simple and voluntary, and to review Pillar 3 banking disclosure requirements that may indirectly impose disproportionate data demands on SME clients;
Added13. Stresses that the ‘one-in, one-out’ approach, which in practice is not sufficiently implemented, is not enough, and calls on the Commission to propose a more ambitious simplification strategy that provides for legal certainty and predictability and that also reviews level 2 and 3 legislation; highlights that the Commission’s 35 % reporting obligations reduction target must be measurable and results have to be trackable, with a clear timeline, key performance indicators and a tracking methodology that is fit for purpose;
AI: Note on change 5 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Adds calls for further simplification beyond omnibus packages, including systematic screening of EU acquis, and adds new paragraphs on InvestEU, banking regulation, and simplification strategy.
Change 6
Changed10.14. Notes that the Commission aims to implement a savings and investmentinvestments union, which must include not only action at EU level, but also the development of tools, solutions and best practices that respect and support Member States’ actions at national level;level and promote cross-border coherence and the gradual reduction of critical divergences;
AI: Note on change 6 · wording only Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Rephrases the savings and investments union paragraph to emphasize cross-border coherence and reduction of divergences.
Change 7
Removed11. Calls on the Commission to improve investors’ access to information and protection, while leveraging the potential of simplified retail products to attract more savings to the capital markets;
Added15. Calls on the Commission to improve investors’ access to information and protection, while leveraging the potential of simplified retail products to help channel household savings to the capital markets, and recalls the important role that pension funds and insurance companies play as facilitators of that channelling; takes note of the launch of the Finance Europe label, which should enable savers who wish to invest their savings in European companies and thus directly contribute to financing the economy of the Union; stresses that this label should not introduce any further administrative burden for companies;
Removed12. Emphasises the need to improve the financial literacy of EU citizens and entrepreneurs; calls on the Commission to include entrepreneurship in the scope of the incoming financial literacy strategy and in a toolkit for Member States to enhance coordination in this aspect;
Added16. Regrets the fact that the European Venture Capital Funds (EuVECA) Regulation has had little positive impact on local venture capital markets; welcomes the focus on venture capital for young, innovative SMEs in the Commission communication on the savings and investments union, but regrets the fact that the Commission’s proposal on EuVECA has been delayed until Q3 2026; calls on the Commission to consider removing the EUR 100 000 minimum investment threshold to allow private savers to invest in alternative funds; urges the Commission to encourage the Member States to provide attractive and stable tax and regulatory frameworks for venture capital funds investing in SMEs;
Removed13. Calls for public funding not to be used as subsidies, but rather as a catalyst to mobilise private investments and make more private funding available to businesses; emphasises also the role of tax incentives in this regard;
Added17. Strongly emphasises the need to improve the financial literacy of EU citizens and entrepreneurs and promote better saving and investment conditions that enable a shift from saving to investing in an informed and independent manner; calls on the Commission to include entrepreneurship in the scope of the incoming financial literacy strategy and in a toolkit for Member States to enhance coordination in this regard;
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Removed14. Calls on the Commission to introduce flexibility in the implementation of Basel III requirements so as to ensure more lending is made available to SMEs and scale-ups; notes that appropriate flexibility could free up financing capacity and boost competitiveness vis-à-vis other jurisdictions in this regard;
Added18. Calls for public funding not to be used as subsidies, but rather as a catalyst to mobilise private investments and make more private funding available to MSMEs; recalls that most of this investment must be private and underlines that this must be stimulated by attractive and stable tax and regulatory frameworks that are appealing to both professional and retail investors; recalls the current structural bias towards loans and considers it necessary to open a debate on the need for equity tax incentives, as well as to encourage venture capital as part of the business model of traditional banking without compromising financial stability;
Removed15. Calls on the Commission to make the securitisation regulatory framework more flexible so as to allow credit institutions to provide further funding to companies and support their growth;
Added19. Highlights that the public sector can play a key role in mobilising private capital, especially in information-asymmetric sectors or regions with underdeveloped financial markets; calls for public instruments to be designed efficiently, with competitive neutrality and a focus on impact, maximising their crowding-in effect on private investment; stresses, to this end, that the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group’s potential must be fully leveraged to crowd in private investment, and it must dedicate more resources to SMEs’ innovation projects, start-ups and scale-ups; highlights, furthermore, the role of the Regional Development Fund, especially in regions with limited credit availability and given the fact that the cost of loans varies across the EU, which disadvantages SMEs in some Member States;
Added20. Takes note of the publication of the review of the securitisation framework and calls on the Commission to make it more flexible so as to allow credit institutions to provide further funding to companies, including SMEs, and support their growth without transparency and credit quality being eroded; stresses, to this end, that the robustness of the significant risk transfer framework must be enhanced by introducing greater risk sensitivity and improving supervisory oversight, thus contributing to simplification;
Added21. Acknowledges the Commission’s aim to develop a blueprint for an EU investment savings account, which should include (i) a simplified tax declaration procedure, (ii) accompanying tax incentives, and (iii) the absence of restrictions on investment geography, sector, deposit limits, or minimum holding periods;
Added22. Recognises the central role played by the private sector in the economic growth and prosperity of the EU; stresses that any progress towards the integration of capital markets must be built on the principles of economic freedom, competition and legal certainty;
Added23. Highlights that a European marketplace for direct secondary transactions, which would allow the trading of shares of late-stage and pre-IPO (initial public offering) start-ups, would enhance the Union’s financing ecosystem as long as it ensures a level playing field among Member States, prevents the concentration of financial activity in only a few jurisdictions, and fully respects national competences;
Added24. Notes that the recast of the Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) provides for a dedicated category of SME growth markets that are supposed to cater for the specific needs of smaller companies; calls on the Commission to further develop this instrument by providing a more flexible regulatory regime that fits the needs of small and mid-cap companies;
AI: Note on change 7 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Adds new paragraphs on retail investment, EuVECA regulation, financial literacy, public funding, securitisation, and other topics, while removing some original paragraphs.
Change 8
Changed16.25. Regrets thatthat, as a consequence of the lack of attractive financing options for scale-ups in our market and of a competitive regulatory environment, many European businesses end up using venture capitalists based in non-EU countries and settling in non-EU country markets to scale up their businesses; expresses concern over the growing number of SME failures in the EU; considers it a priority to address the underlying causes, such as the lack of long-term capital, tax pressure during scaling and disproportionate administrative burdens;
AI: Note on change 8 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Expands the paragraph on non-EU venture capital to include causes like lack of long-term capital and tax pressure.
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Change 9
Changed17.26. Understands that mobilising European institutional investors, notably insurance companiescompanies, 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;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;
AI: Note on change 9 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Adds calls for developing pension systems and creating a regulatory environment for equity investments, and mentions risk-absorbing measures.
Change 10
Removed18. Encourages the Commission to strengthen co-investment platforms as a means to crowd in private investment;
Added27. 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;
AI: Note on change 10 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Expands the paragraph on co-investment platforms to include regionally anchored vehicles and calls for capitalised Tech-Champions Initiative and TechEU Platform.
Change 11
Changed19.28. Highlights the importance of channellingcreating the right conditions for citizens’ savings to be channelled into productive investment instruments that can benefit SMEs and scale-ups; encourages the Commission to promoteeliminate simpleregulatory disincentives for retail investment products, and secureto ensure that retail investors are adequately protected when taking investment channelsdecisions; recognises that crowdfunding and technologies such as smart contracts and decentralised finance can broaden SMEs’ access to eliminatedirect finance, and urges the Commission to review its regulatory disincentives;framework with an innovation-focused, proportionate risk approach;
AI: Note on change 11 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Rewrites the paragraph on citizens' savings to call for eliminating regulatory disincentives and reviewing crowdfunding and decentralised finance frameworks.
Change 12
Changed20.29. 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;
AI: Note on change 12 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Adds mention of entrepreneur forums, private accelerators, and the Trusted Investors Network to the innovation ecosystem paragraph.
Change 13
Changed21.30. Considers that a competitive ecosystem in the EU must be composed of both strong national markets and that national differences playa anstrong importantinternal rolemarket, inand fosteringthat healthy competition between Member StatesStates, andespecially in incentivisingterms of economic and regulatory approaches, incentivises them to keep their economies dynamic and attractive;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;
AI: Note on change 13 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Rewrites the paragraph on national markets to stress both strong national markets and a strong internal market, and calls for no barriers to cross-border capital.
Change 14
Changed22.31. Urges the Commission to focus on enabling conditions for markets, relevant common denominators for the Member StatesStates, and voluntary and complementary frameworks,frameworks inaimed respectat ofgradually subsidiarity;reducing market fragmentation;
AI: Note on change 14 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Changes the call for enabling conditions to focus on reducing market fragmentation.
Change 15
Changed23.32. Calls on the Commission to clarify what the 28th legal regime willwould consist of and recalls thatthat, if it mustwere to be voluntaryintroduced, andit would have to be voluntary, fully respect Member States’ regimes;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;
AI: Note on change 15 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Expands the paragraph on the 28th regime to specify it would be voluntary and developed with the private sector.
Change 16
Changed24.33. Calls on the Commission, with the support of Member State authorities, to develop businesssimplified guidelinesguidance 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;
AI: Note on change 16 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Adds calls for simplified guidance tools, one-stop-shops, and EU-wide indicators for SMEs.
Change 17 under “EXPLANATORY STATEMENT”
RemovedAccording to Rule 56(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the explanatory statement will be included closer to the vote.
AddedEurope does not lack entrepreneurial energy; it struggles to turn promising start-ups into globally competitive scale-ups that choose to expand from, and remain listed in, the Union. The core diagnosis underlying this own-initiative report is therefore simple: our bottleneck is the scale-up phase, not company creation. The causes are well-known and widely acknowledged in recent flagship diagnostics (Draghi, Letta) and by the Commission’s new Start-up and Scale-up Strategy: an overly complex and unpredictable regulatory environment, fragmentation of rules and markets, and a financing ecosystem that remains underdeveloped in risk capital for late-stage growth. These conditions push many high-potential firms to rely on non-EU investors and to scale abroad.
AddedFirst, on the regulatory environment. The report takes seriously the evidence that excessive and duplicative obligations—often stemming from the European Green Deal—have raised compliance costs and uncertainty, hitting smaller firms hardest. A substantial share of companies now view reporting requirements as an obstacle to investment, and a majority of SMEs flag regulatory obstacles and administrative burden as their biggest challenge—pressures that are even more acute for start-ups and micro-enterprises.
AddedThe report also recognises that bank lending remains the primary external funding source for SMEs, which makes the proportionality of banking rules and the avoidance of duplicate reporting especially important for credit provision to the real economy.
AddedSecond, on private capital. Europe needs to mobilise household savings and institutional investors more effectively and channel them into productive equity and quasi-equity for SMEs and scale-ups. This requires better investor information and protection, simple retail products, and improved financial literacy, alongside stable, attractive tax and regulatory frameworks. Public funding should not crowd out private investment; it should be catalytic in crowding-in private capital, and leveraging the EIB Group where it has comparative advantage.
AddedThird, on the scale-up finance gap specifically, late-stage growth capital within the EU is insufficient, which is why many European champions turn to non-European investors and markets. The report’s aim is to increase the supply of long-term patient capital in Europe by mobilising insurers, pension funds and banks under a prudentially sound, proportionate framework; by strengthening co-investment platforms and networks (including regionally anchored vehicles and angel communities), and by ensuring EU-level instruments—such as the forthcoming European Tech-Champions initiative—are adequately capitalised and accessible across all Member States through streamlined procedures. Crucially, access to finance should follow criteria of efficiency, profitability and scalability; the goal is to mobilise more European capital without discriminating against foreign capital, within an open and globally competitive framework.
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AddedFourth, on market architecture. A truly competitive ecosystem combines strong national markets with a strong internal market. Healthy competition among Member States—especially in regulatory and economic approaches—can be a driver of dynamism, provided it does not erect barriers to cross-border capital allocation. In this spirit, the report emphasises enabling conditions and voluntary, complementary EU frameworks that respect subsidiarity. It invites clarity on any potential “28th regime”: if introduced, it must be strictly voluntary, co-created with the private sector, and designed to simplify—not duplicate—rules so as to attract private investors to European start-ups and scale-ups. It also calls for practical guidance tools and one-stop-shops to help SMEs navigate divergent corporate, labour, insolvency, tax and IP regimes, and for better EU-wide access-to-finance dashboards that inform firms without adding reporting burdens.
AddedIn sum, the strategy is to make Europe the easiest place to scale: cut red tape that tangibly frees capacity to innovate; crowd-in private capital (retail and institutional) with simple, trusted channels; close the late-stage equity gap so our best firms stay and list here; and build a competitive ecosystem that respects subsidiarity while lowering cross-border frictions. This report aims to offer a balanced, actionable path to that outcome—open to global investment, anchored in market principles, and focused on unlocking the full potential of European enterprises.
AI: Note on change 17 · substance Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-v4-flash · 4 Sept 2026
Replaces the placeholder explanatory statement with a detailed explanation of the report's rationale and content.
Sources & citation
Where the facts on this page come from, and how to cite it.
- Data source
- Licensed CC BY 4.0.
- Retrieved
- 25 September 2026
Cite as
European Parliament (2025). “Changes between ECON-PR-772123 and A-10-2025-0185”. Text, 2 October 2025. from ECON-PR-772123, to A-10-2025-0185, reference 2025/2072(INI). EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ECON-PR-772123/compare/A-10-2025-0185 (retrieved 25 September 2026). Data: European Parliament Open Data, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/ (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX
@misc{epw-text-2025-10-02,
author = {{European Parliament}},
title = {{Changes between ECON-PR-772123 and A-10-2025-0185}},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-10-02},
howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ECON-PR-772123/compare/A-10-2025-0185}},
url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ECON-PR-772123/compare/A-10-2025-0185},
urldate = {2026-09-25},
publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
note = {Text. from ECON-PR-772123, to A-10-2025-0185, reference 2025/2072(INI). Data: European Parliament Open Data (CC BY 4.0)}
}