[DaedPsyker]

A few here have commented on different aspects, and they have their part to play but I agree with you, market fragmentation is the scale killer.

From an outside perspective it might appear like Europe is a true single market like the US but it isn't. Scaling to a European level isn't impossible but it is difficult. Some of that will just be difficult to do anything about, language, different cultures, etc. On the political side I'm sure there is plenty more the EU can do but I don't see the will.

[James_K]

Market fragmentation is a measurable phenomenon, as far as a language goes. The language barrier is just the cost of a translator. Is that cost prohibitively high in Europe? I hear a lot of explanations of why Europe has fewer tech companies than America, but they are almost never backed by statistics. The most obvious answer continues to be the Bretton Woods system, by which large amounts of money are funnelled into America, seemingly without reason. China inverts this flow by debasing its currency, and Europe does not.

[sealeck]

> The language barrier is just the cost of a translator.

Is it?

> Market fragmentation is a measurable phenomenon, as far as a language goes.

Market fragmentation isn't about language fragmentation – the EU has no single market for services currently, which means if you want to launch a product EU-wide you are effectively launching a product in 27 different countries. There is some harmonization, but not much. If you launch a product in the US you have a large fully harmonized single market.

[izacus]

The most bizarre thing is that the loudest critics of EUs market fragmentation are usually the most aggressive blockers of integration that would mitigate these issues.

[James_K]

What exactly is the current single market for services lacking?

https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/ser...

They seem to have a lot of bases covered.