1. Definitions and Context of Cross-Border Investment
- Cross-border investment means investors and startups coming from different countries, with a focus on attracting capital beyond local markets.
- Michal defines it as investing in companies linked to Slovakia/Czechia but involving investors or structures from countries like US, Germany.
- Emily explains EIT Health invests public money aiming to boost health innovation across all European countries, emphasizing cross-border consortia with entities from multiple countries.

2. Importance and Motivation for Cross-Border Investments
- Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) lacks sufficient private capital; the gap must be filled partly by international investors.
- Cross-border investment helps startups scale by accessing larger markets and strategic investors with domain expertise.
- Examples: Antigenes (Estonia) expanded across Europe with local and later international investments; Slovak software startup connected to European Space Agency leveraged international VC capital for growth.
- International investors bring knowledge, networks, and additional benefits beyond just funding.

3. Challenges in European Cross-Border Investment
- Europe is fragmented politically and legally with many regulatory regimes (up to 31 for a given industry).
- There is a gap in private capital mobilization within many CEE countries; much private wealth is uninvested.
- Health tech startups face regulatory hurdles for market approval and reimbursement differences across countries.
- Many startups lack business readiness, understanding investor expectations or value creation, limiting their appeal to follow-on investors.
- Smaller private investors lack structures and incentives to invest across borders.

4. Suggested Solutions and Actions
- Focus first on mobilizing domestic capital by creating effective tax incentives, regulatory clarity, and long-term investment visions.
- Encourage local angel communities and investor networks which effectively lobby and support private investment.
- Provide startups with education, mentorship, and connections to prepare them for international investment and scaling.
- Employ public funding (grants and investments) to support startups through early regulatory/market challenges.
- Foster international collaboration among investor communities, with consistent legal and financial frameworks to ease cross-border transactions.

5. Key Actionable Items Highlighted:
- Develop and promote tax incentives and legal frameworks to enable and incentivize private and angel investments domestically and cross-border.
- Scale educational and mentorship programs for startup founders to better understand value creation and investor expectations.
- Support formation and strengthening of local and international angel and investor networks to source and support cross-border deals.
- Continue and increase public funding initiatives targeted at bridging the "no man's land" for deep tech and health startups.
- Encourage long-term strategic vision (10-30 years) for capital flow into innovative companies.
- Maintain international consortium projects with multi-country representation to foster collaboration and market access.

6. Final Remarks
- Cross-border investment in Europe, especially in CEE, is crucial but challenging due to fragmented markets and lack of capital integration.
- Addressing local market inefficiencies and educating startups/investors is foundational before expecting large-scale cross-border investments.
- Public and private collaboration, coupled with regulatory improvements, will gradually enhance the European startup investment ecosystem.