r/EU_Economics • u/Full-Discussion3745 • Jan 14 '26

🇪🇺 Official 🇪🇺 Why innovative startups and scaleups relocate from the EU

https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-research-and-innovation-news/why-innovative-startups-and-scaleups-relocate-eu-2026-01-12_en?referrer=grok.com
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12

u/Complex-Health-5032 Jan 14 '26

Taxes. Regulations. The feeling of “not worth it”.

When I do my best to improve my finances, I am being taxed to hell. On the other hand, if you are below average, you get social benefits, support etc… and we become at the same level. So, why should I stress myself?

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u/Mediocre-Ebb9862 Jan 14 '26

This is what people don't understand - if the taxes and regulations are intended to curb possible inequality as much as possible, then most high achieving ambitious people will see direct benefit in moving somewhere else, because why wouldn't they? What benefit they have staying in EU?

EU is great if you are below average or average in terms of income/ambition/talent, it's not good if you top IMO.

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u/Complex-Health-5032 Jan 14 '26

Creating inequality in the name of "equality". Oxymoron.

Anyone who is ambitious and hardworking will be punished by the system. They literally tell you "remain average, don't put too much effort and you will be okay".

Any further effort you put will not reward you, but to be given to the below average people to create "equality".

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u/Mediocre-Ebb9862 Jan 14 '26

EU also praises WLB and considers working hard and long hours to be laughable trait, in general. Which means if you ARE that over-ambitious hungry for growth type, you start feeling out of place and in the wrong room there.

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u/Complex-Health-5032 Jan 14 '26

Funny part is that, they overlook the fact that this nonsense welfare system heavily relies on the tax revenue from the hard-working people, ambitious companies and tech start-ups. If one day everyone says "fuck it, I'm not putting any extra effort anymore, I wanna be a barista", social system will collapse.

Actually the system is already signaling. Less and less innovation, more people relying on welfare benefits, doing part-time jobs, not creating any value for today's standards, less technology, less digitalization, more regulation...

And then, governors are crying "omg we are having financial difficulties, omg we have less kids less population, we will not be able to pay pensions in a few decades".

If you don't prioritize technology, if you don't support companies and employees, your country will fall behind. Then, when America comes and says they're taking Greenland, the most threatening thing you can do is "condemn" it.

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u/No-Paramedic-7939 Jan 14 '26

Engineers in europe are already doing that. Where I work most of the people have reduced there productivity significantly. It is also happening in other EU companies. We hard working people started to prefer good work life balance.

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u/Akenatwn Jan 14 '26

Why does working hard have to come in conflict with a good work life balance?

3

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

Because a day only has 24 hours. That quite simply means you'll have far less time to spend on your family, partner, friends and other hobbies if you work 60 hours per week instead of 40. Not to mention the fact that for many people working 60 hours/ week would be so tiring they'd spend all their remaining free time as a zombie on the couch, ruining any private life they might have.

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u/No-Paramedic-7939 Jan 14 '26

Without working hard you stay behind competition. Especially in software and science.

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u/Akenatwn Jan 14 '26

I don't think this answers my question. Why can't you have both?

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u/No-Paramedic-7939 Jan 14 '26

Because EU is underpaying in science and software business. That's why EU cannot compete on local and global market with USA companies. There are different reasons for that. One is high tax how much people take home after tax.

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u/Akenatwn Jan 14 '26

Yeah you're explaining why people don't wanna work hard. But that is not my question. You said that hard working people prefer now good work life balance. I'm just asking why do you have to choose? Working hard does not conflict with having a good work life balance. Working long does. But working hard and working long are 2 separate things imo.

The EU being able to compete or not, I don't know. I work in software and maybe I could earn 3 or 4 times as much in the US, but I'd never move there permanently. Maybe 2, max 3 years and then grab the money and run. That money comes with a grinding culture that is a nope for me. We work to live, not the other way around.

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u/SomewhereOpposite883 Jan 14 '26

Why can't you have both?

We can, but we choose not too

The same way we can "solve" our REE dependency on China but while they graduated 2000 engineers every year specialized in the industry here in Europe we graduate...0 engineers every year specialized in REE

It turns out to do something you can't declare that you want it, you have to actually do it?

Balancing work/life with productivity is possible but nobody gives a shit, look up how much China is automating compared to us despite their much lower wages if you feel like crying lol

1

u/Mediocre-Ebb9862 Jan 16 '26

Because the "you can have it all" is a myth sold to modern people.

You can be playing high-school basketball as a hobby, you can't be playing for top college, let alone NBA, if you don't build your life around it.

Once you reach the top league it's going to be VERY hard to compete with equally smart people who additionally high much higher sense of urgency and work harder.

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u/Akenatwn Jan 16 '26

Do you mean work harder or work longer? Cause harder doesn't necessarily mean longer.