European Business Survey

Geopolitical uncertainty has made economic security a central issue on the EU agenda. Companies are playing a crucial role in reducing strategic dependencies, strengthening resilience and diversifying supply chains. A pilot survey of 228 companies operating in Europe offers initial insights into how businesses assess geopolitical risks and what they expect from EU policymakers. The survey was conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 – several years into the Sino-US trade and tech conflict, the Ukraine war, and supply chain concerns that emerged especially after the Covid-crisis but before recent escalations in transatlantic relations and the Iran conflict. Around 130–150 respondents answered the majority of the survey questions. Bertelsmann Stiftung, the Mercator Institute of China Studies (MERICS), the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), and the Netherlands Institute of International Relations (Clingendael) together developed this survey as a pilot project. Europe’s largest business association BusinessEurope supported the survey by distributing it to its members.