Here a link to an interesting article in today's FT about patenting in the EU: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ab0f4020-49be-11e0-acf0-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1G3V5uVAa
As of today no single EU patent exists. This raises the costs of patenting significantly, which in turn might deter firms to enter the EU market. One major political problem inhibiting the adoption of a single patent are the different national languages: "What is currently called a “European patent” is simply a basket of national patents that have to be validated, enforced and, if necessary, litigated in each jurisdiction separately.
The EU’s paralysis around this subject is emblematic of its difficulties in overcoming narrow national interests to create a genuine single market and boost competitiveness. Politicians have repeatedly squabbled over what “language regime” should be used, and where and how any disputes should be litigated. (...)
Last year, Brussels produced an EU patent proposal that would require translation of the “core claims” into only three languages – English, French and German – but this has run into objections from Spain and Italy. (...)
As a result, Europe remains uncompetitive – compared with the US or Japan – for inventors or businesses seeking to protect their intellectual property. According to the European Commission, an EU patent validated in only 13 member states can cost up to €18,000 ($25,000), of which €10,000 relates to translation fees. That is 10 times as high as the cost of a patent for all of the US."