Us Europeans are more 'detached' from the economy than people are in the USA. We basically coast along. We don't live on credit, but debit, and most people have zero investments outside their house. We're content and risk adverse and don't care much for the stock market (even though many people's pensions are tied to it).
In places where higher education is cheap, or even sometimes free (like Sweden), there's less pressure to perform after graduation. It's quite common to study some field, but after graduation you go do something completely unrelated. A degree is just a means to an end, something to put on your CV to get an edge over those that does not have a degree. Those who study for the purpose of using their knowledge to create a successful business are very few.
And when it comes to starting a business, the EU market is rarely the target, instead the focus is the domestic and much smaller market.
It's also difficult to start a company that targets a larger market from the get go, because it means you need to advertise in multiple countries, target different languages, set up offices and contacts, and all of that costs money that startups do not have.
The EU single market is largely a myth from the perspective of wanting to start a successful company that can compete internationally. It's not any easier now than it was before the EU existed.
The EU is still a collection of different countries, with different languages, and the people in one country doesn't really care about what happens across their border or which new and up-and-coming company they have to offer.
EU citizens like American companies, because we here about them on the news constantly, but we are completely oblivious to companies from our European neighbors.