Survey

Eurochambres Economic Survey

11/11/2025

The new European Commission took office one year ago, with the Competitiveness
Compass serving as the roadmap for restoring Europe's dynamism and boosting economic
growth. Yet, the diagnosis emerging from the Eurochambres Economic Survey 2026
(EES2026) is far from reassuring. Business confidence remains subdued and expectations
for productivity in the year ahead remain largely subject to persistent uncertainty across
Europe. SMEs, the majority of the respondents to the EES2026, continue to suffer a
persistent productivity gap relative to large businesses, which limits their propensity to
invest, scale, and expand.

The long-term goal to revive Europe’s growth and strengthen productivity requires bold,
coordinated actions in the short term: something that, despite political recognition, Europe
continues to lack. The continued inertia of Europe’s policy-makers is in stark contrast to
global partners and competitors: their trajectories are linear and underpinned by coherent
policy frameworks, while Europe’s remains encumbered by obstacles, fragmentation, and
regulatory burdens.

Improving the functioning of a 450 million people single market by simplifying and reducing
rules and ensuring the right conditions for businesses has not yet become an imperative for
the EU’s agenda. The new European Commission political guidelines promised to boost
growth and investment, yet progress so far has been very slow. Entrepreneurs all over
Europe see a widening gap between political aspiration and delivery. Key reforms on
competitiveness, innovation, and simplification remain stalled or watered down.
What is urgently needed is a recalibration of the EU’s Competitiveness Compass, anchoring
it in the real needs of entrepreneurs operating on the ground: lower labour and energy costs, fewer regulations, more productivity, and stronger European entrepreneurship!

The EES2026 reflects the voices of tens of thousands of businesses across 28 European
countries. Their responses convey both resilience and concern: resilience in their determination to face higher costs and innovate their business models; concern that
structural challenges and cross-border barriers, if left unaddressed, will continue to erode
Europe’s competitiveness.

Eurochambres calls on EU and national policymakers to act to restore confidence in Europe’s business community and make entrepreneurship in Europe easier and more attractive to younger generations.

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