So I take it your question is: Is Anti-EU sentiment justified or unjustified?
I think that it's both wholly justified and almost entirely grassroots/bottom-up. A thriving tech/industrial ecosystem -- even a functional military-industrial ecosystem -- is basically incompatible with Europe's regulatory and taxation structures.
Much has been written recently about how Norway and Italy tax unrealized gains to such an extent that running a SV-style startup is basically illegal. See, e.g.: https://x.com/aledeniz/status/1842872753499607407
Labor regulations result in very high costs of failure, so that what would be profitable in California would be unprofitable in Germany: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2024/12/wh...
As Boss Zvi put it, "Welcome to being a CEO in the EU with over 40m in revenue, now please report these 649 environmental and social indicators." https://x.com/jo3hill/status/1866450203743576478
And I could go on all day. Depending on the business you're in, it can be smart to incorporate in the Caiman Islands and work out of Europe on a satellite office basis, but you definitely want to limit your exposure to EU rules.
I'd only note that the EU is not a monolith, local regulations and tax laws can differ wildly, and some countries -- like Ireland and certain Baltic companies chasing investment -- are much more business friendly than others. (With Italy, Germany, and Norway in the "you'd have to be a masochist to start a business here" tier.)
I think that it's both wholly justified and almost entirely grassroots/bottom-up. A thriving tech/industrial ecosystem -- even a functional military-industrial ecosystem -- is basically incompatible with Europe's regulatory and taxation structures.
Much has been written recently about how Norway and Italy tax unrealized gains to such an extent that running a SV-style startup is basically illegal. See, e.g.: https://x.com/aledeniz/status/1842872753499607407
Labor regulations result in very high costs of failure, so that what would be profitable in California would be unprofitable in Germany: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2024/12/wh...
As Boss Zvi put it, "Welcome to being a CEO in the EU with over 40m in revenue, now please report these 649 environmental and social indicators." https://x.com/jo3hill/status/1866450203743576478
And I could go on all day. Depending on the business you're in, it can be smart to incorporate in the Caiman Islands and work out of Europe on a satellite office basis, but you definitely want to limit your exposure to EU rules.
I'd only note that the EU is not a monolith, local regulations and tax laws can differ wildly, and some countries -- like Ireland and certain Baltic companies chasing investment -- are much more business friendly than others. (With Italy, Germany, and Norway in the "you'd have to be a masochist to start a business here" tier.)