European Business Survey - Bridging the Gap between Geopolitics and Corporate Strategy

The survey was conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 – several years into the Sino-US trade and tech conflict, the Ukrainian 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.

Six findings stand out

• Awareness of economic security leaves room for improvement. Only one third of the respondents discuss this issue at management level at least monthly, indicating that geopolitical risks are not yet fully integrated into corporate strategy.
• The most common measures for mitigating geopolitical risks are diversifying markets (58%), localising production (34%), and stockpiling critical inputs (31%). 
• At least one negative impact from the US-China rivalry was felt by 31% of respondents. Amidst these tensions, more than half of the respondents do not plan to reduce their involvement in either market, thus underlining their continued economic importance.
• US tariffs/ import quotas are seen as the most burdensome economic security measure, with 66% having reported a negative impact. Comparable figures for Chinese and EU measures are significantly lower.
• Respondents are largely unprepared for a Taiwan contingency: Only 10% reported having taken concrete preparations, despite around 81% experiencing or expecting to experience tangible effects from Russia’s war against Ukraine.
• Respondents’ top priorities for EU action were strengthening the Single Market (61%), investments in technological innovation (59%), and the development of a more coherent industrial policy (53%). More assertive measures against China or the United States received only limited support (18% and 16%).

In summary, the results suggest that despite geopolitical upheavals and concerns about economic security, respondent companies are slow to integrate this issue into their corporate strategies. Furthermore, corporate preference for supportive rather than assertive measures reveals a gap between companies and EU policymakers on what is needed to ensure Europe’s economic security. Bridging this gap will be crucial in building trust and improving the exchange of information between governments and businesses. Although the survey is not statistically representative, it points to three priorities for policymakers and companies alike.

Policy priorities

1. Strengthening corporate resilience by providing clearer guidance, advisory support for SMEs and regular geopolitical stress tests for strategically important firms.
2. Deepening the Single Market and improving the business environment in Europe, while simultaneously preparing targeted protective measures against unfair competition and power-play tactics on the part from the United States and China – even though this will likely garner disapproval from parts of the business community.
3. Establishing trusted channels for the confidential exchange of data between governments and businesses to improve evidence-based policies on economic security.

Corporate priorities

1. Integrating economic security into strategic planning by identifying vulnerabilities in key inputs, to then diversify where necessary, stockpile where critical and, where possible, factor in supply chain disruptions, so that resilience becomes a core strength.
2. Improving preparedness for geopolitical contingencies, including Taiwan-related disruptions and spillover effects from regional conflicts.
3. Engaging more closely with policymakers to support better coordination and calibration of economic security measures.