EU Inc.: A new harmonised corporate legal regime

Following the Political Guidelines 2024–2029 of the European Commission and the mission letter of the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law, the Commission’s January 2025 Competitiveness Compass announced the creation of a “28th regime” as part of a broader strategy to strengthen the competitiveness of the European economy. The objective is to enable innovative companies to operate under a single, harmonised set of EU-wide rules, covering relevant aspects of corporate, insolvency, labour and tax law. 

Against this background, the EU Inc. will establish a new, harmonised corporate legal regime across the European Union. While particularly designed for innovative companies and startups, it will be available to any founder who considers it suitable, alongside existing national company forms.

The  Proposal for an EU Inc. corporate legal framework  provides faster (within 48 hours), cheaper (maximum EUR 100) and fully digital company registration, simplified procedures throughout the company life cycle, easier digital share transfers and capital operations, support for modern financing instruments, and the possibility for Member States to allow access to public equity markets. It also introduces fully digital insolvency procedures and automatic transmission of company data to relevant authorities in line with the “once-only principle,” while including safeguards against fraud and abuse. Moreover, it will provide a common optional scheme for employee stock options with harmonized deffered taxation, which will enable EU Inc. companies to attract the best talents. 

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