23rd October 2026
The Council adopted today its position on a new corporate legal framework to facilitate cross-border business and investment, particularly for startups and scaleups. Companies will be able to choose between the existing 27 national corporate law regimes and this new 28th “EU Inc” regime. Companies that choose to operate under this framework, will be able to register online within just two days, at a maximum cost of €100. They will be known as EU Inc. and will be able to operate across the entire EU single market.
The EU Inc. proposal is part of the EU "One Europe, One Market" roadmap. In October, the European Council underlined the importance of advancing negotiations on EU Inc.
The Council’s position supports the proposal’s main objectives but introduces changes to simplify the framework, streamline its digital and employee stock-option provisions, improve safeguards, and ensure that it is more consistent with the freedoms of the EU internal market.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said:
"I warmly welcome the agreement on 'EU Inc' reached in the Council today. As Presidency, Ireland has placed strong emphasis on improving Europe’s competitiveness. This is a measure that will make a real and practical difference to start-ups and SMEs looking to scale up across the EU. It will be easier to establish, easier to attract and retain talented staff, easier to take advantage of the Single Market, one of Europe’s greatest strengths.
"I hope engagement with the European Parliament will now move forward swiftly so that the measure can become law as soon as possible. I would like to pay special tribute to Commissioner McGrath who is responsible for the proposal, and to the dedicated Irish team that has worked tirelessly for today’s agreement."
Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke said:
"EU Inc. is a foundational pillar in Europe’s ambition to change the dial on its competitiveness and productivity. Reform in this area is a critical deliverable identified by the Draghi and Letta Reports and subsequently by the European Council and European Commission. EU Inc. has been a key file for the Irish Presidency, and I have been working to secure an ambitious EU-wide corporate framework to help unlock the full potential of the Single Market. Today’s success is a significant milestone and the culmination of an intensive effort, with the goal that EU Inc. will make it easier for innovative companies to start-up and scale-up across Europe. I look forward to forthcoming negotiations with the European Parliament to finalise the proposal and to deliver on our commitment in the ‘One Europe, One Market’ roadmap."
A simplified framework
The Council’s position makes the new framework simpler and more flexible for companies. It clarifies the scope of the regulation and its interaction with national and sectoral laws.
Requirements for exchanges with national administrations are kept to a minimum, while the process of registration and rules on listing and withdrawal have been adjusted to ensure reliability and swiftness.
The functioning of the digital share register has been simplified, and trade-mark provisions have been refined.
A leaner implementation is established including for the operation of the once-only and digital-only principles.
Ensuring preventing controls and checks
The Council’s position strengthens controls and checks at every stage of an EU Inc.’s existence to protect the internal market from abuse. It allows member states to refuse to register a company on grounds related to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism or other criminal activity, in accordance with national law.
Employee participation
The negotiating mandate foresees that an EU Inc company will be subject to the employee participation rules of the member state in which it has its registered office, as proposed by the Commission. However, the Council position includes an optional mechanism to ensure the compliance of national employee participation rules in case an EU Inc company registered in one member state exceed employee participation thresholds in another EU country where it also operates. The mandate gives flexibility to companies on how to achieve compliance.
An attractive employee stock-option scheme
The proposed EU employee stock option plan has been preserved as a means for EU Inc. companies to attract and retain talent.
The Council has introduced some safeguards, such as reducing their scope to small mid-caps (that is, companies with 750 employees and €150 million annual turnover).
Timeline for implementation
The Council position gives member states 21 months to implement the regulation, ensuring swift action with achievable timelines.
Next steps
The agreement today formalises the Council's negotiating position. It provides the Council presidency with a mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament, which can start as soon as the Parliament adopts its position.
Background
The 2024 Draghi and 2023 Letta reports proposed a unified legal environment to remove fragmented corporate rules hindering cross-border startup operations. These calls are structured under the EU “One Europe, One Market" roadmap, which includes the objective of creating a digital-by-default 28th regime corporate legal framework (the EU Inc.).
The overall objectives of the roadmap are to simplify rules, create a more integrated Single Market, including by removing the ten most harmful barriers, champion strong trade, reduce energy prices and decarbonise, and drive the EU digital and AI transformation.
ENDS
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