Europe has talent, capital, and ambition, yet its most promising startups still struggle to scale, or leave. Somewhere between early growth and global scale, momentum is lost. Why? The reasons are debated: fragmented markets, regulatory complexity, access to capital. New ideas like the 28th regime aim to simplify this path and reduce friction across borders. Yet the question remains whether structural change can keep up with the speed at which companies need to grow. Is Europe solving the right problem? And what would it take to turn a strong startup ecosystem into a true scale-up economy?