The 28th Regime (EU)
Updates, resources, and readiness tools for Europe’s planned optional company framework for innovative firms.
Europe is preparing an optional EU-wide “28th regime” for innovative companies. This site tracks what’s official, what’s proposed (EU-Inc ), and what founders and advisors should watch next.
🟡 Current status: The European Commission proposal is currently scheduled for 18 March 2026.
We’re monitoring for publication before the March European Council (19–20 March 2026). Dates can move — this page updates fast.
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Why this matters?
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Latest status (below)
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Compare proposals (Regime 0 vs EU-Inc vs “28th regime”)
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Resources library (curated links + key docs)
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Newsletter (every ~2 weeks)
Why this matters?
Scaling across the Single Market still means re-solving the same company setup, governance, and compliance problems country by country. That fragmentation acts like an “invisible tariff” on cross-border growth — the IMF has estimated persistent barriers in the EU Single Market are equivalent to a 110% tariff on services.
The “28th regime” is the idea of an optional EU-level rulebook that companies could choose, so operating across Member States becomes closer to “one set of rules” instead of 27 variations. The design details (scope, safeguards, and how it interacts with national labour/tax rules) will decide whether it becomes true simplification or a compromise layer.
This site tracks what’s official, what’s proposed, and what changes for founders the moment draft legal text lands.
Latest status
Last updated: 24 Feb 2026
Parliament's tax subcommittee (FISC) held a public hearing on the feasibility of a "28th tax regime" — a clear sign that tax barriers and incentives are now being discussed alongside the upcoming EU-Inc / 28th-regime corporate proposal. Three expert groups (Bruegel, CEPS, ETAF) presented directions; the common ground was a narrow, practical scope focused on equity/stock-option treatment and administrative simplification rather than broad tax harmonisation.
The hearing surfaced three distinct approaches — Bruegel argued for a targeted digital hub with equity taxation at sale (not at grant) as the key lever; CEPS proposed modular tax-interoperability layers (loss relief, mobility rules, VAT/withholding simplification) added gradually on top of the corporate-law base; ETAF supported single-entry reporting but warned that substantive tax changes trigger Council unanimity and risk adding parallel complexity. The rapporteur, Ľudovít Ódor, pushed throughout on whether the regime needs a tax element to be attractive in practice — MEPs converged on digital-by-default setup, tax neutrality for opting in, and a credible fix for stock-option treatment as the realistic minimums.
What I'm watching next: the Commission draft legal text — now less than a month away (scheduled 18 March 2026). The FISC hearing signals that Parliament will push for at least a minimum tax/admin layer alongside the corporate framework. Once the text exists, scope, safeguards, and the "regulation vs directive" choice become reviewable.
For the full timeline and primary docs, see progress.
Previous status
Updated: 15 Feb 2026
The European Parliament has formally adopted recommendations supporting a harmonised 28th regime for innovative companies, including fast digital incorporation and cross-border operation features; this feeds into the European Commission’s upcoming legislative work.
What’s changed is timeline clarity: the European Parliament’s Legislative Train tracker currently lists the Commission proposal as scheduled for 18 March 2026. We’re also monitoring for publication before the March European Council (19–20 March 2026). Note: “Scheduled” means planned, not guaranteed — calendars can slip.
Political framing is now explicit: President von der Leyen is packaging “EU-Inc / 28th regime” inside a “One Europe, One Market” roadmap with five building blocks — where pillar #2 (“Build one market”) is the relevant lane for this initiative (alongside deeper capital markets). The ambition is framed as reaching “One Europe, One Market” by end-2027.
Previous status
Updated: 26 Jan 2026
The European Parliament has formally adopted a set of recommendations supporting a harmonised 28th regime for innovative companies, including digital incorporation and cross‑border operation features; this will feed into the European Commission’s legislative proposal expected in Q1 2026.
At the World Economic Forum, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen publicly backed the initiative under the “EU‑Inc” banner. Discussions now hinge on the regime’s design (regulation vs directive) and social safeguards.
What you’ll find on this site
A neutral tracker
A dated changelog of official milestones, plus what each step actually means for founders, investors, and operators.
A curated library
The best primary docs and a small number of high-signal explainers — no clutter.
Clear comparisons (with receipts)
One page that compares what proposals actually say on scope, governance, registry model, ESOP/tax principles, dispute resolution, and more.
Practical readiness tools (coming soon)
Checklists and decision trees you can use the moment rules are published (or even while planning).
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* Independent project. Not affiliated with EU institutions. Not legal advice.
We may add partner links later; if we do, we’ll label them clearly.