Attack on World Market: EU for Global Champions "Made in Europe"

The EU no longer wants to be primarily a regulatory referee in global competition, but rather a stronger player on the field. At its summit in Brussels on Thursday, the European Council set the course for a reform of the European economic structure. Under the guiding principle of “One Europe, One Market,” the heads of state and government are pursuing the goal of increasing European competitiveness and cementing the community's strategic autonomy without undermining the European social model.

The Council has identified a core problem: While US or Chinese companies can scale in huge, unified domestic markets, European startups often struggle with 27 different national regulatory frameworks. That is set to change. In the spirit of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), the EU leaders are calling for a consistent simplification of the internal market, where harmonized EU regulations will replace national unilateral actions. The guiding idea is that companies of all sizes – from small IT service providers to emerging AI unicorns – can operate as smoothly throughout the internal market as if there were no borders.

A new instrument is intended to help particularly innovative companies: a European corporate law framework in the form of the “28th regime” with the EU Inc. at its center. This optional, harmonized regulation is intended to enable startups in particular to expand digitally and across borders without having to repeatedly familiarize themselves with the jungle of local economic laws. The Council wants to push for this initiative to be adopted together with Parliament by the end of 2026, based on a Commission proposal. However, EU Member of Parliament Damian Boeselager (Volt) still sees hurdles: For example, employee co-determination rights in Europe remain diverse.

Green light for mega-mergers?

To forge world-class “global champions,” the sacred cow of competition authorities is also coming into focus: merger control. The Council is calling for a revision of the guidelines for mergers. In doing so, the heads of state are taking up an initiative by the EU Commission, which launched the reform of the comparatively strict guidelines almost a year ago. Key areas such as technology, telecommunications, and defense are to be recognized as sectors where size is a decisive competitive factor. This is exactly to the liking of the CEO of Deutsche Telekom, Timotheus Höttges.

Support also comes from the highest political level. Chancellor Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, have jointly emphasized the desire to establish competition rules in such a way that European champions can emerge. The path for mega-mergers is to be paved to be able to compete internationally against giants. However, consumer advocates like Vanessa Turner from the Beuc association warn against weakening merger control at the expense of consumers. Especially in the telecommunications sector, the promised additional investments in infrastructure in return often remain vague. The Council at least emphasizes, pro forma, that effective competition must continue to be guaranteed.

Digitalization as a bureaucracy killer

To generally reduce administrative effort, the EU leaders are betting on digitalization. One element is the introduction of a uniform electronic reporting system for the posting of employees. At the same time, the “once-only” principle is to become a reality through a digital wallet similar to the EUDI Wallet, which would simplify interactions between companies and authorities.

Brussels is also pushing the pace on AI and regulation: the controversial planned omnibus package, including an ambitious amendment to the AI Act, is to be finalized by July 2026 to create SME-friendly regulation. The roadmap is generally tight: the agenda is to be implemented as early as 2026, if possible, and by the end of 2027 at the latest.

(kbe)