Ensuring the Future of Europe’s SMEs: Cooperatives Europe Co-Signs Joint Paper on Business Transfers

Cooperatives Europe, together with Eurochambres, European Family Businesses, Transeo, CECOP, Cooperatives Europe, SME united, and European Association of Guarantee Institutions, have released a joint paper calling for strategic EU action to support business transfers.

As Europe faces a demographic shift, hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs are set to retire in the coming years. Business transfers—whether to family, employees, or external buyers—will be essential to avoid mass closures, protect jobs, and secure Europe’s economic fabric.

Despite the scale of the challenge, this issue remains under-addressed at the EU level. The paper outlines 10 concrete policy suggestions for EU institutions, ranging from financial tools to education, data collection, and the inclusion of business transfers in future EU strategies and funding programmes.

Each year, 450,000 businesses are transferred in Europe—yet an estimated 150,000 risk failing to complete the process successfully. This is particularly critical for small and medium-sized enterprises, which form the backbone of Europe’s economy and local communities.

The organisations urge the European Commission to update its 1994 Recommendation on business transfers and to take the lead in coordinating a modern, EU-wide approach.

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