外资重构欧洲版图：AI、国防与低碳能源成为新增长引擎

Related topics Despite a global downturn in foreign investment and disrupted trade, businessesforecast an increase in Europe’s long-term investment appeal. In brief Foreign direct investment (FDI) declined 7% in Europe in 2025. Yet it remains an activedestination with over 5,000 projects announced that year.Investment is surging in high-growth verticals such as AI, defense and low-carbon energybut declining in traditional industrial sectors.Six in 10 businesses surveyed expect Europe’s attractiveness to increase in the next threeyears. urope continues to demonstrate resilience as a destination for FDI. While investmentdeclined 7% in 2025 amid global uncertainty and disruptions to trade, the continentstill attracted more than 5,000 projects that created over 200,000 jobs, underliningthe strength of its underlying fundamentals. E Investment is evolving rather than retreating. FDI in high-growth sectors such as AI, defense andlow-carbon energy is expanding rapidly, reflecting Europe’s ability to position itself at theforefront of emerging industries. At the same time, new centers of growth are emerging acrossSouthern, Central and Eastern Europe, supported by competitive costs, strong talent pools andtargeted policy initiatives. Although investors remain cautious in the short term, sentiment about Europe’s long-termattractiveness remains positive. Most businesses expect the region to become more attractiveover the next three years, driven by its large market, high-quality infrastructure and growinginnovation ecosystem. This article explores how Europe is navigating this period of transition, balancing short-termpressures with long-term opportunity. Sustaining momentum will depend on addressingstructural cost challenges, reinforcing industrial competitiveness and unlocking investment atscale. Encouragingly, most businesses believe Europe will make the strategic decisions needed tomobilize the additional investment required to enhance its competitiveness and productivity. This is part one of the EY European Attractiveness Survey 2026 edition. The second article andfull report will be released on 23 June 2026 and will take a deeper look at how policymakersand businesses can address Europe’s challenges and capture emerging opportunities across AI,energy, defense and finance. Methodology The EY Europe Attractiveness Survey draws on two main sources: 1. The EY European Investment Monitor (EIM) Our evaluation of FDI in Europe is based on the EY EIM. This proprietarydatabase helps us to track projects announced in 2025 across 47 countries. Thedatabase tracks the FDI projects that have resulted in the creation or theexpansion of facilities and jobs. The EY EIM database focuses on investment announcements, the number of newjobs created and, where identifiable, the associated capital investment. Projectsare identified through the daily monitoring of more than 10,000 news sources.The EY EIM database shows the reality of investment in manufacturing andservices by foreign companies across the continent. The following categories of investment projects are excluded from the EY EIM:M&A and joint ventures (unless these result in new facilities or new jobs beingcreated); license agreements; retail and leisure facilities; hotels and real estate;utilities; extraction activities; portfolio investments (pensions, insurance andfinancial funds); factory and other production replacement investments; andnonprofit organizations. 2. The perception survey This study examined Europe’s perceived attractiveness via an anonymous onlinesurvey of international decision-makers. We define attractiveness of a location asa combination of image, investor confidence, and the perception of a category orarea’s ability to provide the most competitive benefits for FDI. Field research was conducted by FT Longitude between 11 February and 30 March2026, based on a representative panel of 500 senior corporate executives (C-suiteor C-1 roles). Only individuals who are involved in, or in charge of, theirorganization's decisions about establishing or expanding operations were includedin the survey. The survey panel's demographics were based on the most recentlyavailable FDI data (2024). The survey aimed to cover a representative sample of investors into Europe bygeography, industry grouping and company size. Approximately 60% ofrespondents work for companies headquartered in Europe, and 40% forcompanies headquartered elsewhere. Respondent companies operate across sixbroad sector categories and are distributed across a full spectrum of company size(by turnover). 1Chapter 1 Foreign investors remain engaged in Europe Amid geopolitical and economic pressures,Europe remains a resilient and attractivedestination for foreign investment. Despite a cautious investment environment worldwide, businesses executed more than 5,000cross-border investment projects in Europe in 2025, creating an additional 200,000 jobs. Geopolitical volatility and rising b