Business registrations in the EU rose by 0.5% in the final quarter of 2025 compared with the previous quarter, while bankruptcy declarations increased by 2.5%.
The figures cover the fourth quarter of 2025 and compare it with the third quarter, Eurostat reported on Monday.
Registrations increased in five of eight parts of the “business economy” — a broad grouping of non-financial market sectors.
The biggest rise in new business registrations was in the information and communication sector, up 6.4% over the quarter, followed by industry at 4.9% and accommodation and food services at 1.3%.
Smaller falls were recorded in trade (down 0.3%) and in construction and transport (both down 0.1%).
Bankruptcies rose in most sectors
Bankruptcy declarations increased in six of eight sectors in the quarter, Eurostat said.
Accommodation and food services recorded the largest rise in bankruptcies at 8.6%, followed by information and communication at 7.9% and transport at 5.6%.
Bankruptcies fell in trade by 3.4% and in finance by 0.7% over the same period.
