How much does it cost to secure a patent in Europe?

This is the 1M$ question everybody has a different answer to, depending on different parameters which influence the budget in a major way.

In 2005 the European Patent Office provided a nice overview on overall cost associated with a European patent. Ten years later this still provides a reliable indicator for the budgetary level associated with a European patent. It can still be found here: https://web.archive.org/web/20081010173215/http://www.european-patent-office.org/epo/new/costs_ep_2005_en.pdf .

It was then estimated that the overall cost for an EP patent which is maintained for 10 years in 6 of the most designated contries ( Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland) would be 32k Euro.

The best strategy in terms of national applications as opposed to a European patent, as always depends on your specific needs. Often the most suitable strategy does not involve only European patents or only national applications, but a suitable mix of both.