By Elisa Martinuzzi
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -European Investment Bank President Nadia Calvino urged the European Commission to be bold with new rules allowing startup firms to easily operate across the bloc, a move aimed at keeping fledgling companies in the region.
The so-called “28th regime” reform would make it easier to raise money and invest across European Union by harmonising financial, legal and taxation rules to create a simpler framework.
That could make it easier to raise capital and grow a business in the EU, boosting Europe’s attractiveness and helping it close the gap to the United States, where startups have grown into some of the world’s biggest, most influential companies.
The Commission, the EU’s executive, is due to issue a proposal on the 28th regime reform in January.
“I really hope that the Commission will be bold in their proposal,” Calvino told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington on Wednesday.
EU CAPITAL MARKET INTEGRATION A TOP PRIORITY
“Reinforcing the integration of Europe’s capital markets, building an integrated capital market is undoubtedly one of our top priorities right now for Europe,” Calvino said.
The European Investment Bank, owned by EU governments, is one of the bloc’s key institutions, borrowing to finance priority projects.
This year, it committed 3.5% of its 100 billion-euro ($117 billion) lending volume to defence and security, triple what it invested in the sector last year, a figure Calvino said she expected will rise further in 2026.
Europe needs “successful innovators to grow and stay in Europe and to finance the necessary investments to maintain our leadership in key technologies for the future,” Calvino said.
The 28th regime has been under discussion, including in a report on how to improve the EU’s single market by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta. But it requires the backing of member state governments and the European Parliament, making the final outcome of reforms uncertain.
Calvino also backed plans to create a single EU financial supervisor, saying it would be “a very important step in the right direction.”
Europe has grappled with divisions as it seeks to forge a common front on reforms to make it stronger in the face of an increasingly dominant United States. Many countries are reluctant to surrender their power to central authorities.
The region’s economic woes have added to the problem with political infighting in France over critical economic reforms such as pensions further underscoring the difficulties.
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(Reporting by Elisa Martinuzzi; Editing by Joe Bavier)
