Small business under pressure: Europe dreams of giants again

Kyriakos Pierrakakis stated that Europe needs bank mergers, larger companies and a unified strategy for technological sovereignty.

Minister of National Economy and Finance of Greece and chairman Eurogroup Kyriakos Pierrakakis said Europe needs deeper integration, bank mergers and larger companies that can compete with the US and China.

Speaking at a debate on the future of competitiveness European Union, Pierrakakis emphasized: “We need more integration in Europe, bank mergers and bigger businesses.”. His words lead Forin.gr with a link to the message Ministry of National Economy and Finance of Greece.

The minister also stated that Europe needs a general strategy for the so-called technological sovereignty. According to him, European countries can create startups, but must help them grow to the scale of large companies. A special role in this process, as noted Pierrakakiscan play European Investment Bank.

The discussion took place with the participation of the former Prime Minister of Italy Enrico Lettywho is now dean School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs V IE University in Madrid. The event was dedicated to the future of competitiveness EU and took place as part of an event organized by Ελληνικό Ίδρυμα Ευρωπαϊκής και Εξωτερικής Πολιτικής (Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, ELIAMEP), Ίδρυμα Οικονομικών και Βιομηχανικών Ερευνών (Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research, IOBE) And IE Competitiveness Hub. The reason was 40th anniversary of the signing of the Single European Act.

European giants instead of small players?

Formally thesis Pierrakakis looks like part of a pan-European debate on competitiveness. EU has long been looking for an answer to the question why the European market is able to create ideas, universities, engineers and technological projects, but is much worse at turning them into global giants on the level of American and Chinese corporations.

Against this backdrop, calls for bank mergers and the creation of larger companies sound like an attempt to build European “champions”. The same logic was previously promoted by reports Mario Draghi And Enrico Lettywhich spoke about the need to deepen the single market, develop capital markets, eliminate fragmentation and increase the investment power of Europe.

However, this idea also has a downside, which is usually spoken about more quietly in official formulations. The more Europe places its bets on business consolidation, the more the question arises: what will happen to small and medium-sized enterprises, which already live under the pressure of high taxes, expensive loans, energy costs, bureaucracy and competition with large networks?

This is where the words Pierrakakis sounds not just like technocratic talk about scale, but part of a broader neoliberal logic: big business is seen as efficient, big banks are seen as sustainable, big markets are seen as competitive, and small and medium-sized businesses are once again in danger of being the romantic backdrop for press releases about development. It is very convenient to love “entrepreneurship” in speeches and at the same time build a system where mainly the big ones survive.

Banks as a new front of integration

Banking mergers topic for Pierrakakis not new. After the meeting Eurogroup On May 4, 2026, he already said that the consolidation of the European banking sector is a condition of strength, as it can lead to better allocation of capital and liquidity, diversification of risks and economies of scale. These statements are published on the website EU Council.

According to Reutershead Eurogroup also advocated cross-border banking mergers that could create stronger pan-European players. As context, the agency pointed to discussions around attempts UniCredit strengthen its position in Germany through interest in Commerzbankwhich the German authorities resisted.

Proponents of such a model argue that large banks will be better able to finance innovation, infrastructure and technological transition. Opponents fear that consolidation will increase the concentration of financial power, reduce competition and make small businesses even more dependent on the decisions of large lending institutions.

For Greece this discussion is particularly sensitive. After the debt crisis, bank restructuring and years of pressure on small businesses, the Greek market is well aware of what business dependence on the banking system means. For smaller companies, access to capital often remains a challenge even as ministers in European forums talk about growth, innovation and investment opportunities.

Technological sovereignty or a market for the elite?

Separate accent Pierrakakis done on technological sovereignty of Europe. The question itself is clear: EU does not want to completely depend on American digital platforms, Chinese industrial chains and external technological solutions. Europe wants its startups, its cloud systems, its chips, its financial instruments and its large companies.

But technological sovereignty cannot be built only from above, through banks, funds and large corporate structures. If SMEs are overwhelmed by the cost of capital, tax burdens and bureaucratic barriers, there will be no vibrant innovation ecosystem. Startups don’t appear out of thin air. They grow from an environment where there is access to finance, tolerance for risk, reasonable regulation and the ability to avoid being eaten by a giant before the first profit.

Therefore, the main fork for Europe today it looks like this: either consolidation will become a development tool that will give business access to capital and markets, or it will turn into another mechanism of concentration, where the big ones become even larger, and the small ones remain decoration for political speeches about “entrepreneurial spirit”.

Editorial comment

Statement Kyryakos Pierrakakis important not only as another thesis about competitiveness EU. It shows the direction in which Europe’s economic elite is increasingly thinking about the future: more integration, more mergers, more big players, more scale.

The problem is what’s behind the word “scale” A very simple process is often hidden – squeezing small and medium-sized companies to the periphery of the market. Formally, they are promised access to financing and new opportunities. In practice, they are increasingly faced with the fact that the rules are written for those who already have capital, legal departments, connections and the ability to withstand years of expensive regulation.

For Greecewhere small and medium-sized businesses remain the basis of the economy and employment, this is the logic especially dangerous. If European integration means only the creation of large banks and corporations, then the ordinary entrepreneur will not receive a new market, but a new master of the rules. And then all the beautiful rhetoric about competitiveness will turn into a familiar formula: profits for large, risks for small, bills for society.

Europe really needs investment, technological independence and the ability to compete with the US and China. But if small and medium-sized businesses are sacrificed for this, the result will be dubious. The continent will not become stronger if it replaces a vibrant economy with a network of corporate giants, bank mergers and bureaucratic strategies written in a language that only panelists can understand.

The main question after the words Pierrakakis sounds simple: Does Europe want to grow strong companies – or build an economy in which there is simply no room for small ones? The answer to it will be more important than any beautiful phrase about sovereignty, integration and global competition.

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