EU Inc (the 28th regime) · 2026/0074(COD)
Supports a harmonised, optional EU company form with fast digital setup and flexible capital and shares, but wants clearer rules on tax, employee participation, insolvency, and a fully integrated EU registry.
Enable fast, fully digital incorporation with online registration, harmonised templates, and a 48-hour registration deadline with low fees.
“We strongly support the proposal to enable fast and fully digital incorporation for EU Inc. companies (Articles 10 and 15). ... The fast-track formation procedure through the EU central interface (Article 15), enabling registration within 48 hours and at a maximum cost of €100 (Article 16), will help make the regime accessible to startups and SMEs.”
ACT_EU Inc _Public Consultation.pdf, page 3
Make use of standardised templates voluntary and ensure companies not using them can still register quickly and cheaply to avoid a two-tier system.
“However, the use of such templates should remain voluntary. ... Companies that choose not to use the standard templates should still be able to complete registration within the proposed 48-hour timeframe and benefit from the maximum incorporation fee of €100.”
ACT_EU Inc _Public Consultation.pdf, page 9
Create a central EU-wide digital incorporation platform with online registration, EU-standard templates, and incorporation within 48 hours to simplify and speed up company setup.
“The purpose of the 28th regime must be particularly focused on a radical simplification and digitalisation of all the procedures governing company life. It is therefore important to ensure the establishment of a central and EU-wide digital incorporation platform. Founders should be able to access this platform to incorporate their companies, upload and file documents, and manage compliance obligations online using an EU-standard template for articles of incorporation and shareholder agreements.”
ACT | The App Association_Response to the EC Call for Evidence on the 28th Regime.pdf, page 5
Allow companies to form with zero minimum share capital and enable flexible share structures including multiple classes and non-par value shares.
“Finally, we support the proposal that EU Inc. companies are not required to have a minimum share capital (Article 62), allowing companies to be established even with €0 capital ... It also enables multiple classes of shares and non-par value shares, providing companies with the flexibility needed to accommodate common venture capital and early-stage financing arrangements.”
ACT_EU Inc _Public Consultation.pdf, page 3
Provide digital share registers and transfers, multiple share classes, and an EU Employee Stock Option Plan with taxation only at exit to support startups and scaleups.
“The proposal entails a flexible share and financing framework ... by introducing digital share registers and fully digital share transfers (Articles 54 and 59). ... The proposal establishes a dedicated EU Employee Stock Option Plan (EU-ESOP) (Article 78) ... taxation of stock options only at the exit (Article 79), when employees sell their shares.”
ACT_EU Inc _Public Consultation.pdf, page 4
Introduce a harmonised EU employee stock option plan (EU-ESO) to allow startups to reward employees with equity in a predictable and competitive manner.
“A harmonised EU employee stock option plan (EU-ESO) would be a decisive step forward. Today, divergent national regimes make employee equity complex and, in some jurisdictions, unattractive. An EU-ESO would allow startups to reward employees with equity in a predictable and competitive manner.”
ACT | The App Association_Response to the EC Call for Evidence on the 28th Regime.pdf, page 7
Introduce harmonised minimum standards on employee participation across Member States to reduce fragmentation and improve corporate governance consistency.
“We call for the introduction of harmonised minimum standards on employee participation within the EU Inc. framework, ensuring a baseline level of consistency across Member States while preserving flexibility where appropriate.”
ACT_EU Inc _Public Consultation.pdf, page 6
Address cross-border employment barriers by enabling EU Inc. companies to hire employees across Member States without needing local branches or subsidiaries.
“ACT notes the Commission's stated intention to explore cross-border telework under the forthcoming Fair Labour Mobility Package and urges the Commission to ensure that the package includes provisions enabling EU Inc. companies to hire across borders without triggering additional establishment requirements.”
ACT_EU Inc _Public Consultation.pdf, page 6
Use a Regulation as the legal basis to ensure immediate and uniform application across all Member States.
Minimise reliance on national law and provide clear guidance on where national rules apply, especially for tax and employment, to reduce fragmentation and increase attractiveness for startups.
“Reliance on national law should be kept to a minimum and accompanied by clear guidance on the areas where national rules continue to apply. ... Greater legal certainty and harmonisation would help reduce complexity, lower compliance costs, and increase the attractiveness of the EU Inc. framework for startups and SMEs.”
ACT_EU Inc _Public Consultation.pdf, page 5
Establish the 28th regime as a Regulation under Article 352 TFEU to ensure uniformity, legal certainty, and avoid fragmentation across Member States.
“Only a Regulation can guarantee the necessary level of uniformity, legal certainty, and administrative unification, including the creation of a single EU-level registry and standardised procedures... For these reasons, only a Regulation under Article 352 TFEU can deliver a clear, uniform, and directly applicable framework.”
ACT | The App Association_Response to the EC Call for Evidence on the 28th Regime.pdf, page 4
Broaden simplified insolvency and winding-up procedures to all EU Inc. companies, not just innovative startups, to provide efficient exit options.
“ACT encourages policymakers to consider broadening these simplified insolvency mechanisms to all EU Inc. companies, ensuring that the regime provides predictable and efficient exit options for the wider startup and SME ecosystem.”
ACT_EU Inc _Public Consultation.pdf, page 7
Require a fully operational central EU company registry from the start to ensure a coherent infrastructure for the EU Inc. framework.
“ACT encourages the amendment of the text to require a fully operational central EU registry as a core component of the Regulation, effective from its entry into force.”
ACT_EU Inc _Public Consultation.pdf, page 7
Harmonise and simplify insolvency and restructuring procedures within the 28th regime to provide entrepreneurs a second chance and reduce costs and delays.
“By establishing a uniform and simplified EU insolvency framework, embedded within the supranational company form, Europe can provide entrepreneurs with a genuine second chance, reduce costs for creditors and debtors, and strengthen investor confidence.”
ACT | The App Association_Response to the EC Call for Evidence on the 28th Regime.pdf, page 6
Develop a complementary tax framework to harmonise taxation for EU Inc. companies across the Single Market and treat conversions into EU Inc. as tax neutral.
“ACT therefore calls on the Commission to bring forward a complementary tax framework to ensure a minimum level of harmonisation across the Single Market ... Further, ACT requests that conversions into EU Inc. to be treated as tax neutral.”
ACT_EU Inc _Public Consultation.pdf, page 5
Harmonise legislation to reduce cross-border barriers to investments and attract capital and talent across the EU single market.
“It should also harmonise the legislation to attract talent and capital, reducing cross-border barriers to investments.”
ACT | The App Association_Response to the EC Call for Evidence on the 28th Regime.pdf, page 8
Open source underneath
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Open-source context and state for AI: it keeps only what matters for the question.
In WhoShapedIt: Reads every lobby submission and position paper and each official text, cut into passages, and judges each passage against nine questions (who can use EU Inc, workers on the board, tax…), so every ask and every step is read on the passages that address it.
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In WhoShapedIt: The status, the timeline, the theme picker, the camps of lobbies and the organisation pages.
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