Publications
& Policy

Ahead of the upcoming European Council, Invest Europe wrote to European Council President António Costa urging Member States to reverse the proposed reduction in the resources allocated to the ECF-InvestEU Instrument - a part of the EU future budget crucial to support venture capital - from €11 billion to €9.6 billion. Drawing on the strong track record of InvestEU and the European Investment Fund in mobilising private capital, we stressed that Europe should be reinforcing, not weakening, one of its most effective tools for boosting EU competitiveness.

This joint paper by the European Banking Federation (EBF) and Invest Europe argues that Europe cannot close its investment and competitiveness gaps without mobilising all available sources of capital, including banks. It highlights how the current prudential framework discourages banks from investing in diversified venture capital, growth capital and private equity funds, despite their lower risk profile compared with direct company investments. The paper calls for a targeted revision of the CRR, including a more risk-sensitive treatment of diversified long-term equity funds, in order to unlock additional financing for innovation, technology, defence and industrial transformation while maintaining prudential soundness.

This update is designed to give members greater visibility on both the policy developments affecting private capital and the work we do to influence them. The publication reviews 26 key EU legislative and policy initiatives spanning fundraising, taxation, sustainability, innovation, strategic sectors and capital markets, helping members understand the opportunities and challenges ahead for the industry.

As the European Commission reviews the definition of Undertakings in Difficulty (UID) under its State aid framework, including the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) as well as its Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines, the draft rules continue to misclassify healthy, investor-backed companies as financially distressed, delaying and restricting access to public support for innovative businesses in sectors critical to Europe's competitiveness. Invest Europe is advocating for a targeted reform that will avoid false positives, supporting companies at precisely the moment they need support to scale.

The paper, shared and discussed with key stakeholders, outlines the importance of the next Multiannual Financial Framework for the future of the EU’s innovation ecosystem, from the perspective of the investors that provide long-term capital to start-ups and scale-ups. It highlights the critical role played by the European Investment Fund (EIF) in using public resources to crowd in private investment, as well as the risks that a less ambitious approach could pose to Europe's competitiveness agenda.

As the Commission continues to narrow down the final details of its revised State aid framework towards the end of 2026, Invest Europe’s engagement highlights that the treatment of undertakings in difficulty and the SME definition remain key barriers to the mobilisation of private capital across Europe’s innovation ecosystem.

As negotiations on the EU‑Inc. proposal move forward, MEP Pascal Canfin’s consultation takes a deeper look at some of its most critical design features. Invest Europe continues to advocate for a framework that enables fast company creation, supports scaling, and improves exit conditions.

Solvency II, officially known as Directive 2009/138/EC on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance, entered into force on 1st January 2016. It sets out management and supervisory rules for insurance companies.  

Invest Europe responded to the European Commission’s draft EU Merger Guidelines consultation, calling for merger control to remain focused on demonstrable competitive harm, while providing greater predictability for investment-driven transactions. The response also calls for clearer recognition of the distinct characteristics of PE, VC and infrastructure investors, including minority investments, separate fund structures and independently managed portfolio companies.

Sustainability reporting serves as a practical tool for investment decision‑making and value creation. As such, Invest Europe’s response to the revision of the ESRS and the voluntary standard highlights key priorities to ensure the framework remains coherent with the ongoing developments of SFDR 2.0, proportionate, usable and aligned with how sustainability reporting works in private capital and its investment universe, while being integrated across the investment lifecycle and focused on decision‑useful, comparable, and emerging information.

As Europe’s PE/VC ecosystem operates increasingly at scale and across borders, the EU‑Inc. proposal offers a practical and timely response for a more investment‑ready company framework. Now, the proposal’s core features must be preserved, renationalisation avoided,  and implementation accelerated, ensuring EU‑Inc. delivers real economic value across the full company lifecycle and incentives, strengthening Europe’s competitiveness while laying the groundwork for deeper Single Market integration.

Invest Europe responded to AMLA’s consultation on draft Regulatory Technical Standards under the AMLR, advocating for a proportionate, risk‑based application of Customer Due Diligence (CDD) to Private Equity, Venture Capital and Infrastructure Fund Management. The response supports AMLA’s objective of harmonisation while calling for clearer operational guidance to reflect closed‑ended fund structures, institutional investor bases and transaction‑driven business models. Invest Europe emphasised the need for simplified due diligence to function effectively in low‑risk contexts, for reliance on functionally equivalent evidence, and for safeguards against national gold‑plating that could undermine proportionality and supervisory convergence.

Europe stands at a crossroads for biotech and healthcare, as it continues to lose companies, capital, talent and clinical activity to more competitive ecosystems abroad. The European Biotech Act I’s delivery must be comprehensive and future-proof.  Invest Europe’s position sets out how the Act can become a true end‑to‑end ecosystem strategy. Without addressing remaining structural bottlenecks, Europe risks continued underperformance in a sector that is central to competitiveness, health security and strategic autonomy.

In this response we highlight to European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) our concerns that focusing draft supervisory statement specifically on private equity ownership models would create a de facto two-tiered regime which, in effect, would apply a higher, more onerous standard to a private equity acquirer.