Can innovation flourish under growing regulation? That was the central question on Wednesday, October 15, when the European Parliament hosted the presentation of the 2025 International Property Rights Index—an annual global study by the Property Rights Alliance, which ranks 125 countries on their protection of intellectual and physical property rights.
Framed around the theme “Measuring EU Innovation for Competitiveness and Economic Growth,” the event brought together lawmakers, economists, and industry representatives to discuss one of Europe’s most pressing questions.
According to the 2025 report, Western Europe remains among the top performers globally, yet the EU as a bloc shows a slight decline compared to previous years—mainly due to reduced physical property protection.
The conference, hosted by Vice President of the European Parliament Pina Picierno, featured leading voices from both sides of the Atlantic, including Dr. Sary Levy-Carciente (Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom), Stephen Ezell (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation), MEPs Stefano Cavedagna and Stephen Bartulica, and Dr. Matthias Bauer from the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE).
Presenting the Index, Dr. Levy-Carciente underlined that “stronger property rights are essential for prosperity, social mobility, and innovation.”
“When citizens and entrepreneurs trust that their ideas and assets are safe,” she said, “they take risks, invest, and build growth.”
The data also reveal that nations with solid property rights tend to enjoy greater gender equality, lower corruption, and stronger democratic institutions. The conclusion is simple but politically inconvenient—economic freedom and private ownership remain the foundation of progress.
Croatian MEP Stephen Bartulica warned that overregulation and state ownership are stifling European economies: “The government is usually the problem, not the solution,” he remarked, echoing Ronald Reagan. “We need to unleash the talents of our people instead of making business more difficult.” His message was clear: prosperity cannot be decreed by Brussels.
From Italy, Stefano Cavedagna called for defending Europe’s cultural and industrial heritage against “green madness” and unfair competition from China and India. “If we try to compete on price and mass production, we lose,” he said. “Europe must defend its capabilities and inventiveness by reinforcing its property rights and reducing regulatory burdens.”
The US outpaces Europe
From Washington, Stephen Ezell presented stark figures: industries relying on intellectual property account for 45% of EU GDP and 40% of its workforce—yet investment in innovation is 1.5 trillion dollars lower than in the United States over the past 15 years. “Innovation depends on the ability to protect ideas,” he said. “Without that protection, there’s no incentive to take risks or invest in the next generation of technologies.”
Both American and European speakers agreed on one thing: China’s systematic theft of intellectual property—estimated at $60 billion in losses per year for Europe—requires a coordinated transatlantic response. But as Ezell warned, Europe’s own regulatory obsession may be doing similar damage from within.
The final panel, featuring Dr. Bauer, Robert Tyler (New Direction), and Horst Heitz (SME Connect), urged the EU to “simplify rather than centralize.” Tyler argued that Brussels’ top-down approach is incompatible with entrepreneurial dynamism: “Europe must rediscover the courage to allow failure—real innovation thrives in freedom, not in five-year plans.”
Among all the points of view, one thing was crystal clear: property rights are not a bureaucratic concern but a civilizational one. As the panelists stated, they guarantee creativity, dignity, and independence—values that built Europe but are now endangered by technocratic centralization and ideological policies.
