Allied For Startups at the European Angel Investment Summit (EAIS)

On 28 October, our Director-General, Serena Borbotti-Frison, had the pleasure of speaking at the European Angel Investment Summit by EBAN – European Business Angel Network.

She joined the panel “28th Regime – Removing Barriers for European Startup Founders and Investors” alongside Ann-Sofie Ronnlund (Member of Cabinet of Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva), Robin Wauters (European Startup Network, EU INC) and Benoit Vandevivere (eu/acc), moderated by Prof. Panayiotis KETIKIDIS (Capacity Building Committee, Hellenic Business Angels Network).

The discussion focused on how the proposed 28th regime could provide a simple, EU-wide legal framework to break down cross-border barriers, helping companies scale more smoothly across Europe. Serena emphasised the need for the regime to be efficient, fast, digital, affordable, and accessible, ensuring it delivers real impact for both founders and investors. She also shared her view that making the regime available to all companies is the most practical approach, given the challenges of defining “innovative” enterprises.

The discussion was followed by a keynote speech delivered by Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva, underlining the EU’s commitment to strengthening Europe’s startup and investment ecosystem. During the speech, she expressed her support for making the 28th regime a regulation rather than a directive, and stressed that limiting the scope of the new registration system to only “innovative companies” could waste valuable time, suggesting that it should be open to all businesses instead.

A sincere thank you to EBAN for the kind invitation and for the wonderful event, and to all panelists for the lively and insightful discussion!