EU unveils plan to slash red tape, boost startup innovation
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The news: The European Commission has unveiled its plan to roll out a single set of corporate rules for the bloc dubbed ‘EU Inc.’, to boost the growth of companies to compete globally against the likes of the US and China.
The context: The proposal holds at its core a set of measures allowing firm to incorporate just once under an EU-wide regime and continue operating across the 27 member bloc. Under the scheme, entrepreneurs will be able to create a company within 48 hours from anywhere in the EU and completely online.
“We are making it drastically easier to start and grow a business all across Europe,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Wednesday.
A statement released by the Commission explained that the fragmented corporate legal landscape makes expanding across EU borders prohibitively challenging for companies. With 27 national legal systems and over 60 company forms, the complexity can delay the setting-up of a company for weeks or even months, slowing growth, raising costs and discouraging scale.
“This crucial step is just the beginning. Our goal is clear: one Europe — one market — by 2028”, added von der Leyen.
Key features of the proposed scheme include the registration of companies for less than €100 and with no minimum share capital requirements, EU Inc. companies will only need to submit their company information once via an EU-level interface through fully digital operations, EU Inc. companies will be free to choose the Member State in which they incorporate, EU Inc. companies will be able to set up EU-wide employee stock option plans and flexibility of share classification and issuance.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president of the European Commission said the intention was to have the EU Inc regime in place by the end of 2026.
The source: European Commission
