One Market.
One Rulebook.
One Future.

The European Tech Summit 2025 brought together EU policymakers, industry leaders, regulators and civil society for a vital conversation about the future of tech regulation in Europe. Organised by the European Tech Alliance (EUTA), the event showcased Europe’s leading homegrown tech companies and their shared vision. The central theme of the Summit was the CEO Call to Action: “One Market. One Rulebook. One Future.”

With over 30 CEOs backing the initiative, the message was clear: Europe must simplify, align and modernise its digital rules to empower innovation and reinforce competitiveness.

Key Messages

Simplification

Cut the red tape, empower growth

Speakers called for urgent action to reduce fragmentation and complexity across the EU. Too often, startups, scale-ups and established tech leaders waste critical resources navigating diverging interpretations and duplicative compliance burdens. As highlighted by multiple CEOs, up to 30% of companies’ resources in European tech companies are now spent on regulatory compliance alone.
“Simplification must translate into competitiveness.”
Antoine Jouteau
CEO of Leboncoin & President of EUTA

Enforcement

End the patchwork, harmonise delivery

Europe’s Single Market can only deliver on its promise if rules are enforced consistently across all Member States. Fragmented enforcement of frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and forthcoming AI legislation undermines clarity, trust, and fair competition.
“There must be one voice that counts, otherwise it’s not a chorus, it’s a cacophony.”
Roberto Viola
Director-General, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Support European Champions

No threshold on ambition

Participants called on the EU to back its own tech ecosystem with bold action, including better access to capital, infrastructure for scaling, and regulation that supports—not stifles—growth. European tech leaders highlighted the challenges of scaling in Europe due to burdensome regulation and uneven rule enforcement.
“It's really a pleasure to be with the crown jewels of European tech, the most valuable and precious innovators we have in the digital European economy. (…) It's a KPI of our success if these companies [the EUTA members] are successful.”
Roberto Viola
Director-General, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Voices from the Summit

Roberto Viola (Director General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission) confirmed strong alignment with the CEO Call for Action, particularly the focus on simplification, enforcement, and AI. He previewed the European Business Wallet and the Digital Omnibus Package as major upcoming tools to streamline compliance.

Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, the European Commission), pledged to reduce administrative burdens by 25% overall and 35% for SMEs.

CEOs from companies like Too Good To Go, Trustpilot, Vinted and Delivery Hero echoed a unified concern: fragmentation is a serious barrier to scale and growth, and the cost of compliance is holding Europe back in the global digital race.

“This manifesto, I could put my signature on. I completely agree.”
Roberto Viola
Director-General, DG CONNECT, European Commission
“We don’t lack talent or ideas. What we lack is the ability to scale.”
MEP Eva Maydell
Member of the ITRE Committee, European Parliament

The summit closed with a strong consensus: Europe must turn its digital ambition into action. That means:

  • Delivering real simplification and cutting outdated red tape
  • Creating a fully harmonised Single Market with consistent enforcement
  • Supporting European tech champions with regulation built for scale, not complexity

The time to act is now. Europe’s tech ecosystem is ready to lead, if we build the right environment to let it thrive.

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