1. What is EU Inc?
EU Inc is the European Commission's formal March 18, 2026 proposal for a new optional company framework under the broader "28th regime" agenda. Unlike the existing Societas Europaea (SE), which requires EUR 120,000 in capital and was designed for larger corporates, EU Inc is positioned as a simpler digital-by-default route for innovative companies that want to operate across borders.
The core idea is simple: one company, one set of rules, all 27 EU member states. Instead of navigating 27 different corporate law systems when expanding across Europe, founders can register a single EU Inc that is recognized everywhere.
Source: European Commission Press Release, March 18, 2026 – existing SE directive minimum capital: Council Regulation (EC) No 2157/2001
2. How it works
The registration process is designed to be as simple as possible:
- Fully digital registration with a 48-hour target
- No minimum share-capital requirement in the Commission proposal
- Total incorporation cost targeted at under 100 EUR
- Once-only filing through an EU-level interface connected to national registers
- Tax identification and VAT numbers without resubmitting the same paperwork
- A central EU register planned as a second-step buildout
Once registered, an EU Inc can operate across all 27 member states without needing to set up subsidiaries or navigate local corporate law in each country.
Source: European Commission, COM(2026) 321 – the Commission press release says EU Inc should be incorporable within 48 hours, for less than EUR 100, and with no minimum share-capital requirement.
3. Key features
Digital-first governance. Board meetings, shareholder votes, and regulatory filings are all digital by default. No requirement for physical meetings.
Cross-border from day one. Unlike national company forms that require separate entities for each country, an EU Inc operates as a single legal entity across the entire single market.
Investor-friendly structure. The Commission proposal includes flexible share classes, simplified share transfers, and digital financing procedures intended to make venture-style structures easier to use inside the EU.
Employee stock options. EU Inc companies would be able to set up EU-wide stock-option plans, with the Commission proposing taxation when the income is realized on sale.
Safeguards and open issues. The Commission says national employment and social laws remain in force and also asks member states to consider specialized judicial chambers or courts for EU Inc disputes. That tells you where the real legislative debates now sit: dispute resolution, labour safeguards, and how uniform the regime will feel in practice.
Sources: European Commission proposal COM(2026) 321 – Draghi competitiveness report (September 2024)
4. Who can register
The public Commission material describes EU Inc as an optional company framework available across the EU and open as an alternative to national company forms. The political focus is clearly on innovative startups and scale-ups, but the proposal is framed as an optional EU-wide regime rather than a narrow pilot for a single company category.
Some eligibility and conversion details will still move during the legislative process, so founders should treat residency, registered-office, and conversion mechanics as proposal-stage details until Parliament and the Council settle the final text.
Want to check if EU Inc fits your situation? Take the readiness assessment.
Source: European Commission proposal COM(2026) 321– high-level eligibility is public, but operational details are still subject to the legislative process.
5. EU Inc vs existing company forms
The most common alternatives for European founders today are national company forms (like the Swedish AB, German GmbH, or Dutch BV) and the US Delaware LLC. EU Inc aims to be better than all of them for cross-border operations.
For a detailed side-by-side comparison, see our comparison table.
6. Tax implications
EU Inc follows local tax rules in the country where it is registered. The proposal does not include tax harmonization – each member state retains its own corporate tax rates and rules.
This means the choice of registration country still matters for tax purposes. Countries with competitive corporate tax rates (like Ireland, the Netherlands, or Estonia) may see higher demand for EU Inc registrations.
The main advantage is operational: you avoid the tax complexity of maintaining separate entities in each country where you do business.
Note: Tax treatment is based on the proposal text (COM(2026) 321), which explicitly excludes tax harmonization. Final rules may differ after the legislative process.
7. Timeline and next steps
The formal proposal was published on March 18, 2026. It now enters the legislative process with the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
The Commission is explicitly calling for agreement by the end of 2026. A 2027 launch remains a plausible working assumption, but the official March 18 press release does not fix a guaranteed first-registration date, so any Q1 2027 reference should be read as an estimate.
For a detailed timeline with all milestones, see the timeline tracker.
Sources: European Commission formal proposal, March 18, 2026 – European Parliament vote 492-144-28, January 20, 2026. – End-2026 agreement is the Commission's stated target; post-adoption rollout timing remains indicative.