{"id":720757,"date":"2026-01-26T00:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T00:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/720757\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T00:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T00:03:14","slug":"european-business-leader-optimism-dips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/720757\/","title":{"rendered":"European Business Leader Optimism Dips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Citizens and Business Leaders United in Calling for Europe&#8217;s Reinvention<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Time is running out for Europe:\u00a0<\/b>96% of business leaders, supported by 85% of citizens, say Europe must urgently protect its commercial interests to avoid severe consequences.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Business confidence is weakening:\u00a0<\/b>Optimism among European business leaders has fallen by 15% since Liberation Day (early April 2025) as hopes for bold, rapid action have yet to materialize.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>&#8220;More Europe&#8221; is the preferred path forward:\u00a0<\/b>Over 60% of business leaders and citizens support deeper cooperation and coordination to strengthen competitiveness\u2014rather than less.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>A broad consensus for reset is emerging:\u00a0<\/b>Around 80% of both citizens and business leaders agree that Europe needs radical change, with support for a focused reform agenda.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Citizens want business leaders to step up:\u00a0<\/b>76% of citizens\u2014and 93% of business leaders themselves\u2014support greater public engagement by business leaders, including within institutions.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">BOSTON, Jan. 25, 2026 \/PRNewswire\/ &#8212;\u00a0The second edition of <a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4602450-1&amp;h=1800497889&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bcg.com%2F&amp;a=Boston+Consulting+Group%27s\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Boston Consulting Group&#039;s;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Boston Consulting Group&#8217;s<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4602450-1&amp;h=1248364998&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bcg.com%2Fpublications%2F2026%2Feuropean-ceos-and-citizens-want-economic-strength&amp;a=European+Competitiveness+Barometer\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:European Competitiveness Barometer;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">European Competitiveness Barometer<\/a>, released today, signals widespread concern across the private sector, with <b>93% of executives<\/b> warning of potential dire consequences for Europe&#8217;s competitiveness, innovation, and job retention.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/798393\/Boston_Consulting_Group_Logo.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" alt=\"Boston Consulting Group logo (PRNewsfoto\/The Boston Consulting Group)\" loading=\"eager\" height=\"177\" width=\"400\" class=\"yf-lglytj loader\"\/><\/a> Boston Consulting Group logo (PRNewsfoto\/The Boston Consulting Group)      <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">The report, based on a November 2025 survey of 850 C-level executives and over 6,400 European citizens, finds that 96% of business leaders believe the EU must take immediate steps to protect its commercial interests to avoid severe long-term consequences. That view is echoed by 85% of European citizens.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">&#8220;Europe can no longer afford to debate whether it has a competitiveness problem\u2014leaders and citizens agree the time for radical change is now,&#8221; said Matthias Tauber, Head of BCG in Europe. &#8220;We need to shift gears to how fast and how far we are willing to go.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>&#8220;More Europe,&#8221; not less, emerges as the path forward for both business leaders and citizens<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Growing frustration with institutional stagnation in both citizens and executives is fueling a demand for a different approach in the European project. Over 60% in both groups believe the solution lies in &#8220;more Europe,&#8221; calling for stronger cooperation, deeper alignment, and more coordinated actions focused on a small set of sectors and countries. This view holds across geographies, including in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Nordics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Other key findings include:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">80% of both business leaders and citizens agree that only radical change can restore Europe&#8217;s competitiveness<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">85% of executives say the\u00a0EU has reached an institutional &#8220;dead end&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">95% of executives support a focused reform effort led by a small group of countries<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Top sector priorities include energy, defense, capital markets, and innovation<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">87% of business leaders support reducing tax burdens, easing labor laws, and simplifying regulation<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>    Story Continues  <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Consensus on change, and diverging national starting points with Italy&#8217;s momentum continues to rise<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Within this shared call for a different European approach, <b>national sentiment diverges<\/b>, with countries differing in levels of confidence, urgency, and expectations for how change should unfold.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Confidence is lowest in <b>France and Germany<\/b>, where only <b>27% of French citizens<\/b> and <b>29% of Germans<\/b> express optimism about Europe&#8217;s competitiveness. Business leader sentiment mirrors this caution, with optimism at <b>61% in France<\/b> and <b>60% in Germany<\/b>, reinforcing alignment between public and private views rather than divergence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Optimism among Italian business leaders has risen since early 2025 to <b>81%<\/b>, and citizens show strong backing for renewal, including <b>87% support for a new generation of pragmatic leaders<\/b> and <b>88% calling for greater business leader involvement<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Elsewhere, sentiment is more measured, but the message is the same. Support for deeper European cooperation remains strong across countries\u2014reaching <b>80% among Spanish business leaders<\/b>\u2014underscoring a shared belief that <b>Europe&#8217;s future requires more Europe, not less<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Business leaders align on five strategic priorities to restore Europe&#8217;s competitiveness<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Business leader respondents across Europe highlight the need for <b>decisive action across technology, energy, finance, defense, and supply chain sovereignty<\/b> to strengthen Europe&#8217;s economic position.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>New technologies<\/b> with strong support for <b>targeted fiscal incentives<\/b> and the creation of a European version of the US <b>DARPA <\/b><b>(<\/b>Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) <b>style agency<\/b> to back high-risk, high-impact innovation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">In\u00a0<b>energy<\/b>, leaders call for a <b>diverse, decarbonized energy mix<\/b>, emphasizing the role of <b>nuclear power<\/b>, alongside accelerated electrification and the development of a <b>fully integrated European grid<\/b>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Investment and financing<\/b> reforms are critical, with a clear push to <b>harmonize banking regulations<\/b>, <b>integrate capital markets<\/b>, and <b>scale up Europe&#8217;s venture ecosystem<\/b>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Defense<\/b> is viewed as a strategic industrial pillar, with leaders advocating for <b>greater European cooperation and integration<\/b> to achieve scale and resilience.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"yf-h8k6hx\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Supply chain and strategic sovereignty<\/b> rank high, with strong backing for <b>supporting key European players<\/b> and <b>reducing external dependencies<\/b> in critical sectors.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Citizens call on CEOs to step up. CEOs are ready to act, but constraints remain<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">The report finds strong support for business leaders to play a more active public role. Ninety-three percent of executives and 76% of citizens want CEOs to be more directly involved in shaping European economic strategy, and 91% of leaders support an EU-level CEO working group. However, concerns remain: 64% cite reputational risks and 54% point to the lack of political engagement as barriers to public participation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">&#8220;Europe&#8217;s business leaders are not asking for permission\u2014they are asking for a platform,&#8221; said Sylvain Duranton, Global Leader of BCG X, the tech build and design division of BCG. &#8220;If institutions can make space for action, European business leaders are ready to lead.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Download the publication here:<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/edge.prnewswire.com\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4602450-1&amp;h=3659581011&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bcg.com%2Fpublications%2F2026%2Feuropean-ceos-and-citizens-want-economic-strength&amp;a=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bcg.com%2Fpublications%2F2026%2Feuropean-ceos-and-citizens-want-economic-strength\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:https:\/\/www.bcg.com\/publications\/2026\/european-ceos-and-citizens-want-economic-strength;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">https:\/\/www.bcg.com\/publications\/2026\/european-ceos-and-citizens-want-economic-strength<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>Media Contact:<br \/><\/b>Eric Gregoire<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/sg.finance.yahoo.com\/news\/mailto:gregoire.eric@bcg.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:gregoire.eric@bcg.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \" target=\"_blank\">gregoire.eric@bcg.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><b>About Boston Consulting Group<\/b> <br \/>Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholders\u2014empowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.<\/p>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" alt=\"Cision\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"16\" width=\"16\" class=\"yf-lglytj loader\"\/> Cision    <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">View original content to download multimedia:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/european-business-leader-optimism-dips-302669299.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/european-business-leader-optimism-dips-302669299.html;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/european-business-leader-optimism-dips-302669299.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Citizens and Business Leaders United in Calling for Europe&#8217;s Reinvention Time is running out for Europe:\u00a096% of business&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":720758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[111614,4588,2000,299,5187,215187,215188,29738],"class_list":{"0":"post-720757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-boston-consulting-group","9":"tag-business-leaders","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-european-citizens","14":"tag-radical-change","15":"tag-support"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115958474594626830","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=720757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/720758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=720757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=720757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=720757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}