Family Business Survey: The EU still has its foot on the brake

This is a first in terms of both scale and depth: a snapshot of the sentiment amongst family businesses in seven major European economies. The EU Family Business Survey, commissioned by the Foundation for Family Businesses, paints a picture of companies’ desire to shape their own future and of their frustration with European particularism.

Brussels, 28 September 2026. The European Union (EU) still holds the promise of growth for European family businesses, but only if the Single Market becomes truly connected and competitive. However, only few believe that the EU’s institutions will be able to keep their promise of cutting red tape – with scepticism especially high in Germany. On average, only around half of all companies believe that they will experience greater success within the next year.

This is the finding of a survey of 2,100 business leaders (around 80 percent of whom run family businesses of varying sizes) across seven European countries, commissioned by the Foundation for Family Businesses and conducted by Edelman Intelligence in collaboration with the ifo Institute. Besides Germany, France, Italy and Spain – which already took part in the last survey in 2025 – three new countries were included this time: the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.

Their views on matters differ. Companies in Poland, Sweden and Germany, in particular, feel that the EU has become less economically attractive over the past two years. At the same time, German and Swedish companies were the biggest investors in the EU during this period, both in their own countries and in other EU countries.

But to truly unleash investment within the EU (rather than outside it), businesses in all seven countries see a need for four key improvements: faster approval procedures, lower labour costs, more flexible labour markets – and more growth.

High costs of regulatory compliance

The biggest barrier to investment, according to the businesses, continues to be bureaucracy, particularly in relation to digital transformation and expansion beyond their home markets. Of the businesses surveyed, 83 percent state that the regulatory burden) within the EU prevents them from investing in these critical areas. For many German and Swedish companies, in particular, the costs of ensuring regulatory compliance exceed 7 percent of their revenue – this is the case for 34 and 28 percent of the respondents in these countries, respectively.

Thus, much of the bureaucratic burden stems from the EU. Additionally, tax policy – which, in principle, still falls under the remit of the Member States – is increasingly being overridden by European and global rules. Again, it is companies in Germany, Sweden and Poland that find their domestic tax systems particularly unattractive by comparison. Looking at all seven countries together, companies have clear demands: alongside lower tax rates on their profits, they are calling above all for simplified and more stable tax policy.

What, then, can complete the Single Market as a borderless economic area? From the options provided, the businesses ranked simplified, largely uniform administrative procedures highest, followed by competitive and better-connected energy markets, with the latter being particularly crucial for larger companies.

Photo © shutterstock / Sean Pavone