Europe is falling behind other regions in having robots take on services and chores, according to a draft EU report obtained by POLITICO.
The European Commission is estimating there are on average 22 robots per 1000 employees across the bloc, which is less than the United States (29). South Korea is outpacing all other world regions, the paper showed, with 101 robots per 1,000 employees.
The report adds an extra layer of urgency for Europe to get its act together if it doesn’t want to fall too far behind its global peers.
It is expected to be released soon as part of a new so-called Competitiveness Compass to help make the EU economy compete with other world regions but was pushed back last week due to President Ursula von der Leyen’s bout of severe pneumonia.
The text, called the 2025 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report, was first reported by Bloomberg.
The EU executive raised concerns about its tech sector in the draft, flagging that the EU’s share of the global market in tech and digital services has halved over the past decade (to 10.8 percent) while the U.S. share has increased by a third (to 38 percent).
The EU has only 263 unicorns — a company valued at over $1 billion — which is a fraction of the number in the United States (1,539) and also trails China’s number (387).
The figures spell trouble for Europe, as “businesses struggle to scale up” and “the role of venture capital remains far smaller than in competing economies,” the text read, drawing heavily from Mario Draghi’s blueprint to fight Europe’s competitive decline.
Digitalization is progressing “but not yet at sufficient pace,” it warned.
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