Around 82% of European start-ups that manage to scale end up moving to the United States in search of financing.

Omissions

• The 82–85% figure applies to the DESTINATION choice of the scale-ups that DO relocate abroad, not to all scaling start-ups. Only about 10% of EU scale-ups relocate at all (of which around 85% choose the US), so the share of all scale-ups ending up in the US is roughly 8–10%, an order of magnitude below the claimed 82%.
• The MEP cited no source; the underlying figures appear to trace to a European Commission study on why innovative start-ups and scale-ups relocate from the EU (announced 2026-01-12, before the session date). The primary study document itself was not directly accessible, so its exact wording could not be confirmed.
• Available corroboration comes from two independent secondary articles (swisscore.org and zabala.eu) reporting the ~10% relocation rate and ~85% US destination share; both are likely derived from the same European Commission study.

Sources

• SecondarySwisscore — Why European Startups are scaling abroadWith 10% of EU scaleups relocating abroad, and of those, around 85% moving to the United States, the EU continues to lose high-growth and ...
• SecondaryZabala Innovation — EU Inc and the future of European startups scalingAround 10% of EU scale-ups relocate, and most choose the US to access a larger market and deeper pools of capital.
• SecondaryEuropean Commission — Research and Innovation news: Why innovative startups and scaleups relocate from the EUA new study analyses the drivers of relocation of innovative startups and scaleups from the EU.