As an American born and raised in New York City, I saw the power of entrepreneurship of us to change the world. The ambition, the ingenuity and the relentless drive, which has involved the country’s economy for generations, was also a global force for prosperity, stability and innovation. But now the USA is withdrawing into an aggressive and unpredictable form of one -sided bullying. I am deeply concerned – not just for America, but for the world.
I have observed these developments from Europe in recent years. I settled with my family in the Netherlands, where I work as a CEO of Cult -Leder -Tartup -Qorium. I was impressed by the first -class infrastructure and public services, but I also met frustrations for which Europe is famous: slow decision -making, risk aversion and stressful regulation. But over time, I saw these as functions that are to be worked with mistakes to be squeezed. You are an indication of a system that durability, cooperation, predictability, logic and long -term thinking about speed, spectacle and zero sums “I win, you lose” policy. They offer Europe a unique advantage in the global race for technological leadership – and the continent can take it with regulatory changes. But his success depends on a difficult change: adaptation of his culture.
The signs are positive on the regulatory side. Europe is calling for a new path to support the technological ambition with public trust, democratic legitimacy and stability.
Take the AI act. Often dismissed by Americans as slow and bureaucratic, it is indeed the first serious attempt in the world to create a harmonized framework for the development and use of AI. Instead of leaving developers in a regulatory gray area or overwhelming them with national laws of patchwork, the law determines clear risk categories and compliance paths. Yes, it requires responsibility – I would argue too much – but it also offers certainty. In sectors such as Biotech, Healthtech and Critical Infrastructure – where uncertainty is often greater deterrent than regulation – this is decisive, especially if America is becoming more and more irregular.
Also consider the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act. These regulations not only try to contain large tech excesses. They lay the basis for a more competitive, more open digital ecosystem. In combination with the GDPR, now a de facto global standard (if not without errors), these frameworks show that Europe is no longer satisfied with being a regulator in the digital age. It becomes a control maker and increasingly the place where responsible innovation can be done.
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This regulatory clarity already makes a difference. European universities and research centers see increasing applications of non-EU state members. International doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, especially in ethically sensitive or publicly effective areas, begin to choose Europe not only as a stopover but as a basis. The risk capital also reacts with remarkable funds for Deep -Tech -Startups in Germany, France and the Netherlands. The European approach may not create the unicorns of the Silicon Valley overnight, but it promotes sustainable, scalable innovations with real effects.
However, there is to do on the cultural side. The process, structure and legislation, no matter how effective, cannot replace passion, optimism and the relentless drive, which is based on the innovations in US entrepreneurship.
Europe has to learn to believe in yourself, and if you don’t move quickly and break things “to at least move faster than now. To be honest, it has to learn to work harder and more – a way of thinking that is not easy to acquire.
Overall, however, progress is positive. Pan-European initiative von Horizon Europe for the European Innovation Council Council with these gaps with coordinated financing and support for highly effective research and technical transmission. The most encouraging is perhaps a growing feeling of urgency among European political decision -makers that innovation is not just about competitiveness – it is about values, focus and prioritization.
This is in contrast to the mood in the USA. The university formation is besieged, prohibited with books, all departments defused and released educators in order to teach the story objectively. The federal rhetoric is open to fundamental scientific facts. Research financing was armed. If the United States is no longer a safe port for open examinations and intellectual freedom, the best and smartest heads will go somewhere else.
And they are already. A growing number of international students choose Canada, Australia and the EU and citing visa challenges, political instability and cultural hostility. American researchers also begin to record posts abroad, often for the same reasons. The long-term effects of this brain outflow will be profound. Europe is now sending the opposite message: This science and innovation are public goods that the truth is not a partisan problem and that education is a right, not a privilege. This message is magnetic for international talents -whether they are an AI ethicist, a quantum physicist or a biotech founder.
Let us be clear: Europe is not perfect and I still believe in the power of American innovation. However, the global competition for talent and innovation accelerates. The rules change and Europe plays the long game – with a strategy based on values, clarity and cooperation. As someone who grew up that America was the place where the future was built, I now look over the Atlantic and think: The future can also be built here. Europe can thrive as a stable, open, true hub for innovation – a free examination between America’s instability and China’s ideology.
If Europe maintains its foundations and at the same time takes on a business, an innovation culture, rewarded the risks, hard work and dynamics, it only has to compete with a one-time occasion-but also to lead. The world urgently needs it.
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