{
  "id": 3472710,
  "title": "What is the Rhine Group? And how is it addressing Europe’s innovation gap?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/what-is-the-rhine-group-and-how-is-it-addressing-europes-innovation",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-26T08:56:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "EU-Startups",
    "slug": "eu-startups",
    "url": "https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/08/what-is-the-rhine-group-and-how-is-it-addressing-europes-innovation-gap/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Rhine Group is a newly launched forum comprising 55 leaders from business, entrepreneurship, economics, academia, and politics, with the goal of addressing Europe's widening innovation and competitiveness gap. Founded on 24 August 2026, the group's co-chairs include former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Stripe co-founder and CEO Patrick Collison. The initiative aims to translate the recommendations from Draghi's 2024 report, The Future of European Competitiveness, into concrete reforms that can help European startups scale their technology businesses globally, rather than relying on foreign markets or infrastructure. The Rhine Group's membership includes notable figures from Europe's technology and venture ecosystem, such as Atomico CEO Niklas Zennström, Celonis co-founder Bastian Nominacher, and Klarna co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski. However, the group has faced early criticism, particularly due to limited representation from Central and Eastern European countries, despite these nations having significant economic growth and expanding technology ecosystems. The Rhine Group's headquarters is in Switzerland, and its online presence relies on US-based technology platforms, highlighting the ongoing challenge of fostering European strategic autonomy.",
  "summary": "“We are not too late to change Europe’s trajectory, if we take the right steps today.” That is the promise of the newly launched Rhine Group – a forum pushing for a stronger response to the continent’s widening innovation and competitiveness gap – but its launch has nevertheless attracted early criticism. Launched on 24 August […] The post What is the Rhine Group? And how is it addressing…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}