Mario Draghi and Ursula von der Leyen © IMAGO/Wiktor Dabkowski
“In other words, innovations appear but rarely grow into large companies capable of competing in the global market. The problem is not research, but what follows: capital, scaling and the market,” writes Germany’s Berliner Zeitung.
The publication notes that there is hardly any document being discussed in Brussels right now as heatedly as the report by former European Central Bank president and ex-Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on the competitiveness of the European Union. Although the report was published back in September 2024, European politicians and experts are still “digesting” the 400-page document and trying to understand how to put into practice the advice of “super-Mario” and where to get those 800 billion euros annually to invest them in improving competitiveness and long-term economic growth.
Innovation without growth
The figures speak for themselves. The EU accounts for just 5% of global capital for startups and young high-growth companies, the US for 52% and China for 40%. At the same time, successful startups are moving abroad: of the 147 European companies with a valuation above one billion dollars (the so-called “unicorns”), 40 have moved their headquarters abroad – in most cases to the United States, according to Berliner Zeitung.
The diagnosis is obvious. What is less obvious is the extent to which it applies to individual regions. The publication explores this with the example of Saxony.
The free state of Saxony cannot be classified as an economically weak region in Europe. Led by Dresden, the region is becoming one of the key centers of microelectronics in the EU. The Technical University of Dresden is a center of excellence, research and industrial applications. In the last 10 years, more than 1,100 companies have been born out of Saxon universities. Saxony is also visible on a European level: universities and research institutes regularly participate in initiatives to support young talent, such as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie program.
In other words, the region’s initial conditions are strong. However, this does not automatically mean a stable ecosystem and reliable growth dynamics, notes Berliner Zeitung.
And emphasizes that the Draghi report describes a pattern that can be transferred to Saxony as well: innovations emerge, but Europe loses momentum noticeably in the transition to growth and market entry. There is no reliable data to show that Saxony is an exception. The number of startups is growing: in 2025, 120 new companies are counted. But whether they turn into larger, long-term growth companies, time will tell.
When startups leave
A concrete example illustrates the problem. Dresden-based chip startup Spinncloud was considering moving its headquarters to the US – not because of a lack of technology, but because of easier access to capital and market. It is this arrangement that Draghi cites as a basic European problem: innovation is born here, but scaling and commercial returns often happen elsewhere. The key question, therefore, is whether the technological foundation of a location is strong in practice.
Another bottleneck lies in bureaucratic procedures. The chambers of commerce and industry in Saxony have been pointing to long approval processes and high bureaucratic requirements for years. This in turn deters investment, delays infrastructure projects and complicates planning and construction.
Financing is another structural problem. Draghi describes Europe as a region with fragmented capital markets and relatively underdeveloped venture capital. Innovation certainly occurs here, but, especially in the riskiest stages of growth, there is often not enough capital to quickly transform technological advances to market scale.
The result is a contradictory picture. Saxony is developing science, laying an industrial base and a growing environment for new companies, Berliner Zeitung concludes. At the same time, the weaknesses that Draghi describes for the whole of Europe are noticeable: limited capital for growth, uncertain scaling prospects and procedures that are not always set up for speed.
Saxony is no exception to the European trend. On the contrary, in the Free State, the structural problem is particularly visible – and at a relatively high level.
The key question is therefore not whether Saxony will be able to keep up with technological progress, but whether it will be able to create a sustainably viable structure based on existing conditions. What will be decisive is whether Saxony’s technology companies can find sufficient funding precisely during the riskiest phases of growth.
Saxony is thus not on the periphery of the European debate on the future, but at the center of it, says the newspaper.
