Publications
& Policy

As the European Commission, the European Parliament and national governments are about to negotiate the terms of the next EU Budget, this paper shares the perspective of private market players on the role of public funding for private equity ecosystems. It also examines what can be done to ensure that EU citizens’ money is used in the most efficient way to promote the Union’s goals.

The existence of 28 different company law and corporate governance rulebooks in Europe is considered by the Commission as one of the main barriers to a Capital Markets Union. As a result, further reviews of the Accounting Directives and other relevant pieces of legislation in this field are expected over the next few years.

Public funding has long been relevant to the development of the private equity and venture capital ecosystem. National legislative programmes aim at supporting innovation through venture and growth capital, under EU state aid rules.

The European Commission Recommendation 2003/361 sets out the main factors for determining whether a company is an small and medium-sized enterprise (SME).

During this launch webinar, we presented Invest Europe's latest member guidance - a new tool to support human rights due diligence by providing an early-stage, high-level assessment of potential risks linked to prospective investments.

Strengthen human rights due diligence from the outset of the investment process with Invest Europe’s new practical tool. Built for investment and ESG teams, this high-level, sector-agnostic framework helps you identify potential risks, spot red flags, and assess governance and mitigation capacity — all aligned with international best practice.

Europe stands at a turning point. By investing strategically, it can boost competitiveness, lead the green transition, and strengthen resilience for decades to come. This report, created by BCG and Confederation of Danish Industry, outlines how Europe can rebuild its foundation for prosperity through modern, connected, and sustainable infrastructure.

Invest Europe updated its online report launched in 2022 to highlight the latest data and success stories of venture capital investment in the Biotech & Healthcare sector in Europe with a focus on employment, growth and innovation.

A new impact study by the Finnish Venture Capital Association (FVCA) and PwC shows that private equity and venture capital investments act as a strong engine for the renewal of Finland’s economy.

Invest Europe welcomes a 28th regime that simplifies and de-risks company formation, operation, and scaling across borders, enabling more businesses to meet PE/VC investability thresholds and boosting deal flow and capital efficiency. A voluntary, digital-by-default EU form that provides legal certainty and flexible governance would offer an attractive alternative to fragmented national rules, provided it is ambitious and supports companies at every stage of growth.

Invest Europe’s response stresses that growth is rarely linear, businesses need time to pivot, experiment, and restructure, often well beyond their first years of operation. The principles of flexibility, functionality, and alignment with financing needs should guide EU innovation policy, whether in terms of definitions - which must avoid rigid thresholds that risk excluding the very companies the Act should support - innovation stress tests, cross-border sandboxes, employee stock-option rules, innovation-friendly procurement, or stronger connections between research, businesses, and investors.

Invest Europe supports a GBER revision that unlocks private capital at scale, by aligning risk-finance rules with how PE/VC actually invests. and by updating key definitions, so that high-potential, investor-backed companies are not excluded by form over substance.

Invest Europe’s response supports the drive for simplification, proportionality, and interoperability, while underlining the importance of clarifying the treatment and expectations for private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) and better reflecting investor needs within the standards to ensure these are both practical and decision-useful.

In this response Invest Europe argues for more streamlined reporting requirements for fund managers subject to AIFMD "Annex IV" obligations. It comments on ESMA's approach to integrated reporting, arguing against harmonisation with UCITS.