The Startup Europe Manifesto has been drawn up by the 9 members of the Startup Leaders Club and draws on the combined experience of dozens of Europeans who have imagined, built and grown successful businesses. It contains 22 recommendations to the European Commission, EU Member States and EU companies in the fields of education and skills, access to talent, access to capital, data protection and thought leadership. For example:
- Companies and Member States should encourage university students to start a business before they graduate
- Member States and the European Commission could turn Europe into the easiest place for highly skilled talent to start a company and get a job by rolling out a pan-European Startup Visa
- That companies and EU governments should buy more from smaller businesses
- Asking the European Commission to remove the requirement for data providers to store information in any given country.
- Asking Member States Appoint a Chief Digital Officer for every country in the EU.
Taken together, the Leaders Club believe that the 22 recommendations will give European businesses the best chance of future success, all the same influencing and powering the growth in the EU.
Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda said "I think these are excellent ideas. We need to give a voice to the entrepreneurs of Europe. I hope that all European leaders will take their suggestions to heart so that we can change mentalities about startups, entrepreneurs and global leadership."
In March 2013, Neelie Kroes invited the Leaders Club to develop a manifesto for economic growth. This was formally presented to the Vice President at the Startup Europe Forum in London in early September 2013. (SPEECH/13/668) Over the last six weeks, the manifesto has been endorsed by more than 5000 people including entrepreneurs, bloggers, and journalists who care about the EU startup scene.
