Why Europe's Digital Market Is Fragmented (And How It Hurts Innovation)

Europe has 27+ regulatory jurisdictions, 24 official languages, and fragmented digital markets. A European startup must comply with GDPR, DSA, DMA, AI Act, and national regulations. Cross-border e-commerce faces VAT complexity and payment fragmentation. Result: European startups scale to the US market faster than across Europe. US tech giants dominate because they can afford compliance teams. The Digital Single Market strategy exists on paper but hasn't materialized in practice. Europe risks becoming a 'museum of regulation' — great rules, no innovation.