By Amy Louise Goodman
The European Commission’s 2025 SME Assembly marked a clear departure in focus from recent years. Sustainability, which once were of focus at such events, seems to have lost its buzz amid fears that the EU will lose to foreign players. Instead, competitiveness was front of mind for those at the assembly.
There was hardly a panel, speech, or discussion in which “competitiveness” and “regulatory burdens” were not mentioned during this year’s SME Assembly in Copenhagen, Denmark. To some degree, one could describe the 2025 SME Assembly as a microcosm of the wider political shifts Europe is facing, as protectionism haunts trade talks globally, the Draghi report has sparked fears of lost competitiveness and calls for deregulation have followed.
So, has sustainability fallen to the wayside in European business? When asked about the sustainability implications of increased digitalisation, use of AI and a focus on competitiveness, Hubert Gambs, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs at the European Commission, responded that in Europe “we are very conscious of the impact on the environment”. Yet despite these ambitious words, the following days of the SME assembly showed a tendency for delegates to focus on European competitiveness over environmental longevity.
As businesses, civil society, and governments set their focuses on the upcoming EU sustainability omnibus package, the yet to be passed legislation has been criticised by civil society and human rights organisations. Campaigners argue that the omnibus is an attempt at deregulation, not simplification, in the name of competitiveness. As the role of EU legislation is hotly debated, should sustainability and competitiveness really be taken as mutually exclusive rivals? Is there space for both a climate-conscious Europe and a Europe with strong SMEs?
The 2025 SME Assembly showed that innovative solutions for environmental and social justice issues are there to be found. Nowhere was this clearer than in the 2025 Youth Start-Up Competition, hosted on the last day of the SME Assembly, where young entrepreneurs pitched their ideas, all three of which focused on social or sustainability issues, providing desperately needed innovation.
The finalists included Michael Strudler from Austria whose start-up Windy Windenergy uses innovative wind turbines that tackle many of the issues found with conventional wind turbines, (such as only being able to operate at certain wind speed), in order to support the green transition.
Jonas Kenewig from Germany also presented his startup AIRIS, a technological solution to disasters that helps emergency response units from different territories or countries to communicate, coordinate their resources, and to save lives. AIRIS, created by Kenewig and his co-founder Maxim Amouzou, has the potential to change emergency responses for disasters such as wildfires, demonstrating the potential that European businesses can bring when addressing environmental disasters, contributing to a safe and healthier Europe.
All the finalists of the 2025 Youth Start-Up Competition demonstrated the potential that European startups can have on environmental and social causes. This raises a question about what the European SME landscape looks like and what its future will hold.
As Europe reflects on its place globally, and competitiveness becomes a rising concern, will Europe remember its other existential threat, namely that of climate change. With over 80% of young Europeans experiencing worry when it comes to climate change, environmental issues are of prime focus for the next generation of Europeans. The Youth Startup Competition this year demonstrates the commitment of young people to meaningfully address these issues in enterprise. Will Europe decide to follow their lead?
1 https://youth.europa.eu/get-involved/sustainable-development/impact-of-…
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