Today, the European Commission published the 2025 Flash Eurobarometer survey on ‘Start-up, Scale-Up and Entrepreneurship’.
This EU-wide survey gathered insights from over 17,000 companies, including 13,000 in the EU-27. Of these, 5% identified as start-ups and 18% as scale-ups (companies already growing by at least 10% annually).
The survey highlights the strong ambition among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the persistent challenges to their growth. Regulatory complexity remains the top concern, cited by nearly two-thirds of respondents, followed by late payments and limited access to finance.
Despite this, SME growth prospects are broadly positive. Since 2021, nearly half of SMEs have reported increased turnover and employment. Looking ahead, 67% expect turnover growth and 46% plan to expand their workforce – though most anticipate modest growth below 10% annually. Start-ups stand out, with nearly one in five projecting growth above 20% per year.
However, scaling up remains difficult. Growth-oriented SMEs point to skills shortages, high energy prices, competitive pressures, and regulatory burdens as key obstacles.
Most SMEs (70%) still operate domestically, though around a quarter are also active across the single market. Scale-ups show a slightly higher level of export activity within the EU.
Barriers to cross border expansion persist, including divergent business environments (33%), unclear rules (30%), taxation issues (29%) . As regards the so-called ‘Terrible Ten’ EU single market barriers, the most important are taxation/VAT rules and permits followed by – in that order – posting of workers, recognition of qualifications, and waste shipment regulations .
Despite these challenges, the survey shows a resilient and forward-looking SME landscape with significant untapped potential.
Documents
Eurobarometer survey on ‘Start-up, Scale-Up and Entrepreneurship
