EU offers 48‑hour startup company
The European Commission unveiled an "EU Inc" proposal to let startups incorporate across all 27 member states in as little as 48 hours under a single regime, harmonising tax, insolvency and stock‑option rules. Brussels says the plan is meant to cut red tape and help European founders scale and compete with the U.S. startup ecosystem. (reuters.com, tech.eu)
The European Commission published the EU Inc. proposal on March 18, 2026 as an optional, digital‑by‑default European corporate framework. (ec.europa.eu) Draft rules cap initial setup costs at under €100 and explicitly remove any minimum share‑capital requirement for companies choosing the new regime. (ec.europa.eu) The package foresees a central EU‑level company register and an EU interface that lets firms submit company information once and obtain tax identification and VAT numbers without resubmitting paperwork. (ec.europa.eu) The Commission has called on the European Parliament and the Council to reach a political agreement on the proposal by the end of 2026, and the text signals follow‑up work to establish the central register. (ec.europa.eu) The initiative has been driven by an EU‑INC campaign that says it gathered more than 22,000 founders and investors since October 2024 and delivered legal proposals to the Commission. (tech.eu) Immediate next steps are discussion at the March 19–20, 2026 European Council and the technical, line‑by‑line negotiations to follow in the European Parliament and the Council of Member State ministers. (the28thregime.eu)
