EU Inc: One Europe. One Market. No Borders.

For decades, Europe’s Single Market has embodied economic ambition, yet remained constrained by administrative fragmentation. While goods and services move relatively freely across borders, the companies behind them are still bound by a patchwork of 27 national legal systems and dozens of corporate structures.

Now, the European Commission is attempting to change that.

With its proposed “EU Inc.” framework, also referred to as the “28th Regime”, Brussels is taking a decisive step toward simplifying how businesses are formed and scaled across the bloc. The initiative aims to give entrepreneurs a unified corporate structure that rivals the operational simplicity of the U.S. and China.

A Digital Corporate Framework

At its core, EU Inc. is designed as an optional, digital-first company structure that operates alongside national regimes.

Under the proposal, founders would be able to incorporate a business entirely online within 48 hours, at a cost capped at €100. The framework removes minimum share capital requirements and eliminates the need for intermediaries in share transfers, longstanding sources of friction for startups operating across multiple jurisdictions.

For investors, the implications are equally significant. A standardised legal structure and harmonised rules could reduce cross-border due diligence from a complex, multi-country exercise into a far more streamlined process.

Closing Europe’s Scale Up Gap

The Commission’s proposal directly targets one of Europe’s most persistent economic challenges: its inability to consistently scale high-growth companies.

Historically, many European startups have relocated their legal headquarters, often to Delaware, to simplify fundraising and expansion. This trend has contributed to a steady outflow of both capital and innovation.

By offering a single, unified corporate regime covering governance, insolvency, and key operational rules, EU Inc. seeks to keep high-growth companies within the European ecosystem and unlock what policymakers see as significant untapped economic potential.

A New Approach to Talent

A central feature of the proposal is the harmonisation of employee stock option plans, long a pain point for startups operating across borders.

Currently, inconsistent tax treatments across member states make it difficult to offer competitive equity packages. Under EU Inc., stock options would be taxed only upon realisation, when shares are sold, removing the so-called “dry tax” burden.

The change could significantly improve startups’ ability to attract and retain talent across Europe, creating a more integrated labour market for high-growth companies.

The Founder’s Perspective

For entrepreneurs operating across Europe, the proposal represents more than regulatory reform. It signals a potential shift in how businesses scale on the continent.

“I’ve spent a large portion of my career moving companies from the UK into Europe, and the ‘Single Market’ has often felt like a misnomer,” said Matecki, a serial entrepreneur behind several high-profile ventures, including fintech firm Zilch.“Every new country meant navigating a new layer of legal, tax and administrative complexity. You end up spending more time on bureaucracy than on building the product.”

He points to talent as a longstanding challenge.

“It’s been incredibly difficult to offer a consistent equity structure across teams in different countries. That creates

an imbalance within companies that are supposed to operate as unified organisations.”

From an investment standpoint, the benefits are equally clear.

“A standardised structure removes a lot of the legal uncertainty from cross-border deals,” he said. “If founders can incorporate quickly and operate across Europe as one jurisdiction, it fundamentally changes how investors view the region, from a fragmented set of markets to a single, scalable opportunity.”

Toward a Single Corporate Market

If implemented, EU Inc. would mark one of the most significant steps toward deeper economic integration since the creation of the Single Market itself.

By reducing administrative barriers and aligning key legal frameworks, Brussels is betting that Europe can finally compete on equal footing with other global innovation hubs, not as 27 separate markets, but as one.