The report, commissioned by the French and German finance ministers, Jörg Kukies and Christian Noyer, was made public in January 2026. The FIVE (Financing Innovative Ventures in Europe) report proposes concrete measures to improve access to capital for high-growth companies (scale-ups and nuggets) in Europe.It makes concrete recommendations on access to late-stage financing for innovative European companies. It aims to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness and create a more efficient and integrated European capital market.
The findings
The absence of European world leaders in certain high-tech sectors is a paradox, insofar as the ecosystem of young shoots of the Old Continent is generally solid. Experts argue that the ability to turn start-ups into “nuggets” is an essential condition for the competitiveness of the industry and the sovereignty of Europe. They note that the current development deficit stems from a shortage of venture capital in the final phase, a lack of adequate capital reserves, due in particular to the inadequacy of funded pensions, the risk aversion of institutional investors, regulatory constraints and the fragmentation of the European capital market. The authors point out that the European Union is at a critical juncture, requiring “bold and immediate action “.
The proposals
The think tank has formulated five main proposals.
– EU Member States should develop supplementary funded pension schemes to complement their pension systems. Without a sufficient pool of retirement savings, Europe will remain unable to finance large-scale innovation. Following the Swedish example, European countries should undertake ambitious reforms of their supplementary pension systems in order to meet the challenges of demographic ageing and the lack of funding for innovation
– A larger share of existing institutional and retail capital should be mobilised to finance innovation.In the short term, it would be essential to unlock existing pools of institutional capital, particularly those of insurers. In order to promote the allocation of institutional investors in venture capital, initiatives such as Tibi and WIN should be deployed in Europe.4.3. Transparency and liquidity are other non-prudential barriers that need to be addressed
– National and European public funding for investments in growth companies should be better adapted to the capital needs of scale-ups, and a 28th company law regime should be created to facilitate their cross-border expansion and limit transaction costs.
– Stock option plans should also be harmonized, including the current listing and trading frameworks.
– Equity markets in the Old Continent should offer more attractive financing conditions. Finally, measures should be taken to enhance the attractiveness of listing in the EU. In order to support listings, the EU should promote greater integration and increased liquidity in its markets.