“Europe has no shortage of strategies. What it lacks is execution.”
Eurochambres CEO Ben Butters discusses the gap between EU policy ambitions and business realities, highlighting the role of Eurochambres as Europe’s largest business network and explores how to best shape regulation, supporting SMEs, and strengthening competitiveness in the coming years.
Looking ahead to the next decade, how do you see the role of Chambers of Commerce evolving across Europe, and which core function must be preserved to ensure they remain indispensable to businesses?
Chambers will become even more critical as Europe navigates a decade defined by geopolitical tension, economic fragmentation, and the urgent need to restore competitiveness. Our role is not just to represent business – it is to ensure that Europe’s policy choices translate into improvements in the business environment.
Europe has no shortage of strategies; what it lacks is execution. Chambers play a decisive role in closing that gap, ensuring that legislation tackles barriers, accelerates the single market, and enables businesses to innovate, scale, and compete globally and sustainably.
Advocacy alone is not enough. Chambers are also a key component in the infrastructure behind business success. We support companies at every stage—from start-up to succession—helping them navigate regulation, develop skills, access international markets, and seize the opportunities created by trade agreements.
This hands-on support reflects chambers' key characteristic, their unique selling point of chambers to put it another way: proximity to business. Our legitimacy and effectiveness come from being rooted in the daily reality of companies. Running a business is complex and the economy is evolving faster than ever and with considerable unpredictability. Chambers can help entrepreneurs succeed in this turbulent context, capitalising on opportunities and mitigating challenges.
From your perspective, what are the most pressing challenges currently facing European SMEs, and where do you see the greatest disconnect between EU policy ambitions and the realities on the ground?
European businesses are increasingly caught between global uncertainty and structural challenges at home, highlighting a growing gap between policy ambition and business reality.
Export-oriented strategies, long pursued to access new markets, now expose companies to rising geopolitical tensions, tariffs, and other trade barriers. Indeed, a recent Eurochambres Chief Economists paper developed with Unioncamere's Taglia Carne research foundation clearly demonstrates the negative impact of trade policy uncertainty on European businesses. At the same time, focusing on the EU market means navigating a highly regulated single market that still falls short of its full potential.
Efforts by the European Commission to strengthen single market integration and reduce administrative burdens are welcome, but their impact on businesses remains limited. This is particularly concerning given the scale of the challenge. Research by the International Monetary Fund estimates that remaining single market barriers are equivalent to tariffs of around 44% on goods and 110% on services. Reducing these barriers would unlock significant economic potential across Europe.
The Eurochambres Economic Survey 2026, combining the voices of more than 41,000 entrepreneurs across Europe, clearly highlight that in addition from regulatory burden, businesses are most notably grappling with high energy costs, driven by ongoing geopolitical tensions, and a widening skills gap, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence. Here again, we see a clear disconnect. While policy rightly emphasises AI, many businesses are still working to complete their broader digital transition.
AI will be a key driver of Europe’s future competitiveness, but it requires a solid digital foundation. SMEs need more than strategies. They need accessible support, practical tools, and targeted upskilling that reflect their day-to-day realities. Through initiatives like the European Learning Experience Platform, the chamber network helps turn ambition into action. Bridging this gap between ambition and reality is essential if Europe is to deliver on its competitiveness goals.
Do you believe the current EU framework provides SMEs with sufficient confidence to invest in the green and digital transitions, and what key improvements would be needed to strengthen that confidence?
The EU has set ambitious objectives for the green and digital transitions, from raising the share of EU businesses using AI from 13.5% in 2023 to 75% by 2030, to reaching climate neutrality by 2050. But ambition alone is not enough to unlock investment confidence among SMEs.
SMEs remain committed to the twin transition. In practice, three structural gaps continue to hold back SME investment, digitalisation, and competitiveness: complex rules, inadequate funding and a lack of guidance. Improvements in these areas are critical.
First, financing remains a critical bottleneck for SMEs. A recent Eurochambres survey on sustainable finance showed that while over 60% of SMEs invest in sustainability, only 20% use external funding, relying mostly on internal resources. The next EU long-term budget – not least the proposed European Competitiveness Fund – must respond to this and effectively leverage financing for SMEs.
Second, skills and implementation support remain essential if SMEs are to deliver on the twin transition. Experience from several LIFE projects managed by Eurochambres with Italian chamber involvement has clearly demonstrated that financial support alone is not enough. Chambers have a crucial role to play in providing training and practical tools.
Finally, regulatory complexity remains a major barrier to competitiveness. This requires simplifying existing rules and removing barriers across the single market.
What key lessons has Eurochambres drawn from recent crises — from the pandemic to the energy shock and geopolitical tensions — and how are these shaping your strategic priorities?
Recent crises have taught us that resilience and competitiveness are two sides of the same coin. Volatile energy prices, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions all weigh heavily on the ability of European businesses, particularly SMEs, to compete.
For Eurochambres, the lesson is clear: Europe must strengthen its economic resilience to reduce exposure to future shocks and safeguard competitiveness. This requires accelerating the shift to secure, affordable clean energy, diversifying supply chains, boosting circularity and deepening the single market.
At the same time, SMEs are among the most exposed to crises, as they often lack the resources to absorb disruptions. This is why chambers are so important. They give businesses a voice towards policymakers, ensuring that policies strengthen the resilience of companies of all sizes. Equally they provide guidance and practical support on the ground. In times of crisis, chambers are often the first point of contact for businesses, helping them navigate uncertainty and adapt quickly.
Looking towards 2030, how would you like Eurochambres to have evolved as an organisation, and what role do you envision it playing within the European policymaking landscape?
2030 will be the start of a new EU legislative term, following European Parliament elections the previous year and the appointment of a new Commission. Eurochambres is already established as one of the main voices for business towards EU policymakers and we must build on this to shape the agenda for the next five-year term.
We start from a position of strength. In 2025 alone, we engaged directly with European Commissioners, put forward more than 60 proposals to cut administrative burdens, and adopted over 60 policy positions. Our voice is heard, but we must strive to ensure that it is heard early and is decisive in the policymaking process.
Our ambition is clear: to become a core partner in delivering business friendly policy making at EU level. That means ensuring business realities are embedded from the outset, and that Europe delivers simpler, more effective rules that enable companies to grow and compete.
At the same time, we will continue to bring business together at scale. Initiatives like the European Parliament of Enterprises demonstrate our unique ability to connect policymakers with the real economy. With the Brussels hemicycle about to close for renovations, we will work with Unioncamere and our other 37 national chamber associations to find creative alternative approaches to bring entrepreneurs directly in contact with senior policymakers.
Eurochambres should stand as the bridge between policy ambition and business reality, and a driving force behind a more competitive and business-friendly Europe.
Ben Butters
CEO of Eurochambres