european commission
Announcement panel discussion at the startup europe summit in Cluj
Allied for Startups and Startup Europe began with a recognition of the incredible potential that startups have for European economies and societies. Enabling founders to fulfil their promise should be a key target for policy makers. Along those lines, the recommendations call for an intense dialogue between European startups and the policy makers that make decisions about them.
The recommendations
The recommendations include reworking employee stock options, using non-legislative tools to establish an EU Forum for the Future of Work, tackling diversity in tech and making startup policy a field in its own right.
Lenard Koschwitz, Global Director Public Policy at Allied for Startups, remarked:
In the last years we’ve seen legislation impacting startups that didn’t consider them enough in the decision-making process. With these recommendations, we want startups to be Priority One of the next Commission.
The recommendations are the process of consultations with startup communities across Europe, including founders of European scale-ups and leading investors. Startup Europe Summit participants exchanged on them at a side-event on Wednesday. A roundtable format let entrepreneurs come forward and share experiences, oftentimes providing concrete examples that backed up the recommendations.
On Friday afternoon, the Startup Policy Ideas were presented to a wider audience at a panel discussion.
Dobromir Ivanov, CEO of the Bulgarian Startup Association BESCO, raised high hopes for recommendation number 6:
A European Startup Visa is doable right now. Do we want to compete with other Member States or are we competing together with the US and China?
By making these Startup Policy Ideas a part of the EU Council Presidency Conclusions, the Romanian Presidency is in a unique position to become an outstanding advocate for startups and innovation and enable more startup success over the next 5 years.
The recommendations are now available and can be endorsed until Friday, 29 March, through this form.