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I recently sat down at the Forum Exchange in Prague to talk about something I care deeply about: Europe's economic future and why Amazon continues to invest here. The forum was buzzing; a packed house, high-quality conversations, and a shared sense of urgency about competitiveness.
Speed, scale and simplification
Amazon invests in the EU because we're optimistic about Europe's outlook. But optimism doesn't mean complacency. There's real work to do.
If I had to boil it down to three priorities, it would be: simplify, speed, and scale. We've never found a customer who wanted to receive something more slowly. People want good products, they want them affordable, and they want them now. Business is actually quite simple when you frame it that way.
The Single Market needs weeding
I like to compare the Single Market to a garden. It doesn't matter if you made it beautiful last year, as weeds will still grow. You've got to continually maintain it, fertilise it, weed it.
Right now, too many administrative barriers hold back small businesses. About 60% of what's sold on Amazon comes from small businesses using our platform. Last year, European sellers alone sold around €40 billion worth of goods. But if a Czech company wants to sell a light bulb in Germany, the recycling registration alone could cost up to €150,000 across all 27 countries, even if they only sell one bulb a year. That doesn't make sense.
Digitalisation is the answer
VAT, recycling, product labelling. These processes can all be digitalised, done once, and applied everywhere. A digital product passport could replace mountains of multilingual paper labels overnight. Quicker, cheaper, fewer resources consumed.
Each reform cumulatively sends a signal: we're open for business. We're making this as easy as possible while keeping it attractive for citizens.
Short-term and long-term thinking
Leaders should be looking into the distance. Of course short-term needs matter; energy supply, prices, retail competition. We think about constraining prices every single day. But you also have to invest for the 30, 40, 50-year time frame.
Amazon is Europe's largest procurer of carbon-free energy. Our data centres, satellites, and AI systems will be in service long after most of us have retired. If you're not investing in innovations that pay back over decades, you won't be in the race.
Permitting done right
One area where leadership makes a real difference is permitting. The region of Aragon in Spain has reduced its process to around six months, even for highly complex projects. That's best in class.
The result? Over the last couple of years, we're investing around €33 billion in Spain alone. It works, and it's attractive.
Let's build in Europe
What gives me hope? Everyone I speak to, at this forum and beyond, is serious about competitiveness. Talk doesn't equal action, but I do see real intent. People are focused not just on immediate interests, but on future generations. As Amazon, we are building in Europe and we're excited to continue.
Watch the full conversation from the GLOBSEC Forum Exchange podcast here.
