EU Inc Is Confirmed. What That Means?

“We will soon put forward our 28th regime,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated at the World Economic Forum on January 20th. This regime, mostly known as EU Inc, was named among three top priorities in building “new Europe”.

The ultimate aim is to create a truly European company structure, so that business can operate across Member States much more easily.

“We need a system where companies can do business and raise financing seamlessly across Europe – just as easily as in uniform markets like the US or China. If we get this right – and if we move fast enough – this will not only help EU companies grow. But it will attract investment from across the world,” Von Der Leyen concluded.

These aspirations exist almost as long as the EU, however, the final shake came with the 2024 Draghi Report, which warned that Europe was losing its competitive edge and its best startups were moving to the US to avoid the “handbrake” of national silos.

By creating EU-Inc, the Commission hopes to:

1. 1. Stop “jurisdiction shopping”. Founders won’t have to choose a country based on whose corporate law is less annoying.
   2. Attract global capital. Make European tech more legible and attractive to US and Asian venture capitalists.
   3. Boost scale-ups. Allow companies to grow across borders as easily as they do in the US or China.

What EU Inc will change?

For decades, European startups have struggled to scale because expanding from one country to another meant hiring 27 different legal teams and complying with 27 different corporate codes. EU-Inc aims to function like the “Delaware C-Corp” model in the US, providing a gold standard for incorporation that works everywhere.

Here are the four main pillars of the confirmed plan:

1. 1. 48-hour digital incorporation: Founders will be able to register a company fully online in any Member State within 48 hours. This eliminates the need for physical notaries and months of paperwork in “slower” jurisdictions.
   2. A Single EU registry: A central, digital “EU-Registry” will serve as a one-stop-shop for onboarding and filings, making the company’s legal status instantly verifiable across the entire Union.
   3. Standardized investment processes: It introduces harmonized legal templates for fundraising (like Term Sheets and SHA). This makes it much easier for international investors to fund European startups without doing deep-dive legal research into 27 different local laws.
   4. Unified stock options (EU-ESOP): One of the biggest wins is a harmonized framework for employee share options, allowing companies to attract talent from any EU country using the same equity structure.

What it doesn’t change?

It is important to manage expectations. EU-Inc is a corporate law change, not a tax or labor change. Companies will still pay taxes in the countries where they operate. Also, hiring and firing rules will remain tied to national employment laws.

Last but not least, this is a “28th regime,” meaning it exists alongside national structures. You can still choose to be a Croatian d.o.o. or a Bulgarian LLC if you prefer.

What happens next?

Now that it is officially confirmed, the legislative process moves as follows:

• • Q1 2026: The European Commission will put forward the formal legislative proposal.
  • By mid 2026 negotiations between the European Parliament and Member States will start. Labor protections, corporate governance, capital mobility and insolvency rules will all be contested territory.
  • 2027/2028: If negotiations end up smoothly, the first “EU-Inc” companies are expected to be officially registered.

While the official announcement at Davos was full of optimism (and for a good reason), it is understandable to remain skeptical about the practical implementation.

Let’s not forget Member States are under no obligation to opt-in to “28th regime”. If only 10 out of 27 countries adopt the EU-Inc framework, a founder in a non-adopting country still has to deal with their old, complex national laws.

As Damian Boeselager, Member of the European Parliament and Vice-Chair of the ECON Committee, commented recently for The Recursive: “Short-sighted national interests” remain the biggest obstacle.

“People don’t understand that by giving up some national rules, the overall benefits for Europe would be huge.”

Besides that, even with the Commission’s backing, the “rules of the game” are still being written. There is a risk that individual countries will add their own extra requirements to the EU-Inc status, defeating the purpose of a single standard, with less bureaucracy.