EU proposal for a regulation on the 28th regime corporate legal framework (‘EU Inc.’)
On 18 March 2026, the European Commission published the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the 28th regime corporate legal framework – ‘EU Inc.’ (the “Proposal”).
The 28th legal regime introduces a new European legal entity, the EU Inc. Those wishing to form a company within the European Union already had the option of doing so under a national legal framework; with the introduction of this regime and after the regulation becomes effective, they will also have the option of forming a company under this European legal framework, providing a second, distinct choice alongside the existing national routes. Where founders opt for the latter, the company shall be governed by this European legal framework and by its articles of association, with those rules governing how the company is formed, managed and operated, from formation to eventual dissolution. The EU Inc. will be recognised as a legal entity in every member state of the European Union, and will serve as an alternative to the different national legal entities as provided for by the national laws of the respective member states.
The rationale behind the Proposal is that companies looking to operate or scale across borders currently face 27 different national legal systems. The 28th legal regime aims to break through this with a single European framework. The initiative is primarily aimed at young and small innovative companies, including startups and scale-ups, but can also be used by any other company. The Proposal is quite extensive and includes provisions on formation and filing, accessibility and cross-border use of the EU Inc. information, and governance, among many other subjects.
The European Commission has proposed to implement the 28th legal regime by way of a regulation, which means that, once adopted, it would apply directly and uniformly across all member states without the need for national implementing legislation.
By way of background, the initiative stems from the Letta Report on the internal market, was supported by the Draghi Report on European competitiveness, and has been included in the European Commission Competitiveness Compass. The Proposal is available here.
The Proposal is just the start of the legislative process, and updates on the legislative process will be posted on our website as they develop. For further information, please contact our contact persons below.
