Commission presents proposal for "EU Inc" - unlocking the full potential of the Single Market

On 18 March 2026, the European Commission presented its proposal for "EU Inc". This proposal is part of the Commission's drive to improve the EU's competitiveness, avoid losing ground to the U.S., China and other markets and to make it easier for companies to scale up faster in Europe.

What is the objective of the EU Inc proposal?

The new "EU Inc" proposal is designed to create a new EU-wide corporate entity with a harmonised set of rules to make the process of setting up, operating and scaling up a company across the EU quicker and easier. The new EU Inc has been compared to the Delaware LLC in the U.S., giving companies full access to the ⁠EU single market. The new framework is designed to reduce red tape and the barriers to expansion and growth and avoid the patchwork of 27 national legal systems.

In a statement made by President Ursula von der Leyen announcing the proposal, she said:

“Europe has the talent, the ideas and the ambition to become the best place for innovators. Yet today, European entrepreneurs who want to scale up face 27 legal systems and more than 60 national company forms. With EU Inc., we are making it drastically easier to start and grow a business all across Europe. Any entrepreneur will be able to create a company within 48 hours, from anywhere in the European Union, and fully online. This crucial step is just the beginning. Our goal is clear: one Europe – one market – by 2028.”

EU Inc companies will have access to the EU single market, a new single set of corporate rules, more harmonised EU-wide employee stock option plans and simplified insolvency procedures, which will help attract talent and investment. 

EU Inc. does not replace national company frameworks. It is an optional harmonised company framework, the "28th regime", which will be available across the EU to all companies. These companies will still be subject, in each EU country in which they operate, to different national employment standards, taxation and other laws of the EU's 27 individual countries.

What are the key features of EU Inc and how will this new company framework support companies?

Some of the main features of EU inc. include:

Faster and cheaper company registration: Entrepreneurs, founders, and companies will be able to set up an EU Inc. company within 48 hours, for less than €100 and with no minimum share capital requirements.

Simpler procedures: EU Inc. companies will only need to submit their company information once, via an EU-level interface connecting national business registers together. In a second step, the Commission will establish a new central EU register. EU Inc. companies will obtain their tax identification and VAT numbers without having to resubmit paperwork. 

Fully digital operations: Corporate processes will be digital by default throughout a company's lifecycle.

Helping founders restart faster and cheaper: EU Inc. companies will have access to fully digital liquidation procedures. Innovative startups will have access to simplified insolvency procedures to facilitate the winding down of operations. This will enable founders to try and test innovative ideas and start again if needed.

Better means to attract talents: EU Inc. companies will be able to set up EU-wide employee stock option plans. The stock option will only be taxed on the income generated once it is sold. This is a crucial factor in ensuring attractiveness, particularly for innovative startups.

Full access to the Single Market: EU Inc. companies will be free to choose the Member State in which they incorporate. The proposal includes a blacklist of prohibited practices to ensure that EU Inc. companies are treated the same way as any other national companies.

Safeguards against abuse: the new EU Inc companies will still be subject, in each EU country in which they operate, to the different national employment standards, taxation and other laws of the EU's 27 individual countries. Those laws will apply to EU Inc. in the same way they apply to any other business under national company law.

The EU Inc. is a key deliverable of EU's competitiveness agenda and one of the main initiatives to support companies, in particular start-ups and scale-ups with innovative technologies, to innovate and grow in the Single Market.

Next steps

Next steps

Given its importance for the EU's prosperity, the Commission have called on the European Parliament and the Council to reach an agreement on the EU Inc. proposal by the end of 2026 and will be giving strong support to the co-legislators to achieve this.

For a link to the Commission's "proposal for a Regulation on the 28th regime corporate legal framework - EU Inc, click here.

For more information on EU Inc, click on the Commission's press release here.

Internal article published by William Fry on 19 March 2026