From Hollywood movies to pop song lyrics or viral social media posts, the stories of American success are hard to escape.
Some begin in a garage where two founders with limited capital and an idea that few take seriously are able to reshape an entire industry. We can call this the innovation dream: the belief that new ideas can disrupt established systems.
Others begin at a modest online bookstore launched from a rented house that grows into a global retail giant. That is the scale dream: the conviction that starting small does not limit how far you can go.
And there are the stories that begin at airports and harbours with migrants arriving to a foreign land with a suitcase and ambition. I call this the mobility dream: the belief that origin does not determine destiny but opportunity is for all.
Together, these stories reward ambition and risk, normalise scale, and celebrate reinvention.
But Europe tells a different story. One of reconciliation, stability, social protection and of historic achievements, hard won.
In an ageing continent facing slower growth, Europe must redefine its dream, integrating innovation, scale and mobility into the European way of life model.
A Generation Under Structural Pressure
Europe’s youngest generation has grown up through financial crisis, the pandemic, climate change disruptions, and rapid technological change. It is among the best educated groups in Europe’s history, with over 43% of 25–34-year-olds holding tertiary degrees, according to Eurostat.
Yet, it is also one of the most exposed to labour-market insecurity, with youth unemployment consistently higher than overall unemployment and young workers disproportionately concentrated in temporary contracts.
At the same time, Europe is ageing. By 2050, nearly one third of Europeans will be over 65. The working-age population is shrinking, fiscal pressures are intensifying and political priorities reflect older majorities.
Democracy as the First Pillar
A European Dream built on innovation and mobility requires democratic systems that are representative and forward-looking.
European political systems are stable, sometimes to the point of rigidity. Leadership pipelines are narrow. Generational turnover is slow.
But the issue is not simply bringing more young people into politics. It is whether institutions reflect generational realities and needs.
Gen Zs are not yet a voting majority, and turnout among them remains lower than among older groups. In fact, according to the EU post-electoral survey for the 2024 European elections, voter turnout among young people under 25 declined by 6% compared to the 2019 elections, with only 36% of eligible voters in this age group participating.
In ageing democracies, where older voters are both more numerous and more likely to vote, electoral incentives naturally gravitate toward their immediate priorities. As a result, long-term investments in housing affordability, digital competitiveness, innovation ecosystems and intergenerational fairness struggle to outrank short-term pressures linked to pensions, fiscal stability and existing entitlements.
If Europe wants to embed innovation and mobility into its own Dream, democratic systems must correct for this structural imbalance rather than reinforce it.
I propose three focus areas. First, broadening access to political power so that leadership is not confined to long-standing party insiders but instead reflects the diversity and generational realities of society.
Second, embedding intergenerational sustainability into fiscal and economic decision-making, ensuring that long-term competitiveness carries political weight.
Finally, shifting institutional metrics of success from managing stability today to expanding opportunity tomorrow.
The Private Sector as the Second Pillar
But democratic reform alone will not define Europe’s next chapter. The new European Dream will only be credible if Europe’s private sector becomes a place where Gen Z wants to build, stay and scale.
In an ageing continent with a shrinking workforce, talent is the decisive resource. Gen Z professionals have grown up in a world defined by disruption, transparency and global comparison. They do not assume loyalty; they assess opportunity. A study in the US found that nearly half of early-career workers say they are willing to leave their current role not for more pay but for better growth opportunities a trend observers call “growth hunting.”
If Europe wants to retain and attract the talent that will drive innovation and scale, its companies must adapt to this new reality. That means building organizations that reward competence rather than longevity, and offering careers with transparent pathways and real development not simply stability.
At the same time, Europe must also decide what kind of start-up continent it wants to have: one that enables founders and researchers to innovate and to build at home, or one that pushes them abroad. The contrast is stark: the United States has founded roughly 200 companies in the past 50 years with market capitalisations above $10 billion, while Europe’s count is closer to 14. The difference is less about creativity than about friction in scaling and about having a modern and true Single Market.
Reducing that friction and aligning corporate structures with Gen Z’s expectations are not side issues. They are structural conditions for a European Dream built on innovation, mobility and opportunity.
From Peace to Performance
The original European project was a peace project. It delivered stability after conflict and built an unprecedented model of integration.
Europe now faces a different reality: fewer workers supporting more retirees, tighter fiscal space and intensified global competition.
A European Dream must align democratic systems and the private sector around innovation, scalability and mobility within a distinctly European framework that reflects the expectations of a generation that has grown up with disruption.
The European Dream should begin in a university lab in Barcelona or Leuven, where a young researcher can scale her breakthrough without leaving the continent.
In a start-up hub in Tallinn or Milan, where a founder can easily expand across 27 countries without encountering 27 regulatory walls.
In a research institute in Athens or Paris, where a migrant scientist decides to move to Europe because she knows she can build eventually a global centre of excellence here.
If Europe can make those pathways clear and routine for Gen Z rather the exception, it will have built its own European Dream.
For sure...
