1、January 2026Transforming Europe:Bold moves to lift a continentEurope is starting to reform its investment environment,but theres no time to lose.Standout companies can take the lead with bold strategic moves that drive their own performanceand a continents.This article is a collaborative effort by A
2、nna Kortis,Jan Mischke,Kim Baroudy,Solveigh Hieronimus,Sylvain Johansson,and Tunde Olanrewaju and is part of McKinseys multiyear series on the future of Europe.Theres been no shortage of attention on Europes competitiveness and investment gap.1 It has been the focus of influential reports by Mario D
3、raghi and Enrico Letta2 and of ongoing European Commission efforts spanning dozens of initiatives,ranging from the building of at-scale AI gigafactories to exploring the creation of a 28th regulatory regime for innovative companies.3 At the same time,European nations are rapidly increasing defense a
4、nd other spending,4 such as Germany establishing a 500 billion fund to support infrastructure and climate-neutral investment.5 The net result?The stage is set for Europe to revive its economic growthif the continent can grasp the opportunity.Thats where the private sector comes in.While the continue
5、d reform process and completion of the single market is critical,Europes leading companies could now play the central role in ushering in a new era of growth and prosperity.Investors are already identifying opportunities6:A record of about 300 billion was raised by European-focused private equity fu
6、nds in the first nine months of 2025or about a third of global commitments.7 Thats encouraging,given European corporations still invest about 40 percent less in capital expenditure and R&D than their peers in the United States.8But more can be done.This article extends our analysis of the critical c