Progress Tracker (EU 28th Regime / EU Inc.)

Status

🟢 Commission proposal — Published 18 March 2026
🟢 European Council political endorsement — 19 March 2026
🟢 Council Working Party — Session 1 and 2 completed (1st on 23 Mar and 2nd on 17 April)
🟡 European Parliament — JURI Committee examining. Rapporteur assignment pending.
🔴 Trilogue negotiation — Not yet. Pending both co-legislators' positions.
🔴 Final EU law — Not yet. Political target: end of 2026.

Last updated: 17 Apr 2026

What happens next (plain language)

The EU Commission published its proposal on 18 March 2026. Now two things happen in parallel:

In the Council (where EU governments negotiate), specialised working groups of civil servants meet regularly to go through the proposal article by article. They've had two sessions so far and have three more scheduled in April–May. Each country sends experts who flag concerns and propose changes. This is where the real text gets shaped.

In the Parliament (where elected MEPs negotiate), the proposal has been assigned to the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI). A rapporteur — the lead MEP responsible for steering the file — will be appointed. Once both institutions have their positions, they meet in "trilogue" negotiations to agree on the final text. The political target for this is end of 2026, but complex legislation often takes longer.

Proposal Watchlist (what triggers an alert)

Join the watchlist if you want an email when any of these occur:

• European Council language materially shapes the file or timeline

• the initiative receives an official COM / EUR-Lex listing

• Council / Member State positioning becomes visible

• major scope clarifications land (e.g., eligibility, registry model, ESOP rules, safeguards)

• amendments or negotiation signals appear from Parliament or Council
  

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Timeline (latest first)

• Spring 2026 — Draft merger guidelines expected for consultation
  (parallel competitiveness track, not an EU Inc. milestone)

• 7 May 2026 — Working Party on Company Law — Session 4 (scheduled)
  Further Council technical review. In parallel, the European Parliament's JURI Committee
  is expected to signal the direction of its rapporteur — a key indicator of Parliament's
  negotiating stance.
  

• 27 April 2026 — Working Party on Company Law — Session 3 (next)
  Continued technical examination of the EU Inc. proposal. Amendment proposals from member
  states are expected to start surfacing at this stage. The registration model and tax
  treatment remain the main friction points.
  

• 17 April 2026 — Working Party on Company Law — Session 2 (took place, waiting for documents to be published)
  First substantive session where member states are expected to reveal national positions
  on key provisions. Watch for signals on the registration model, minimum capital
  requirements, and cross-border seat transfer rules. The text that enters trilogue will
  not be the text published on 18 March — this is where it starts to change.
  

• 23–26 March 2026 — First Council working-party discussions took place. The Company Law working party (23 March) and the Internal Market working party (26 March) both took the EU Inc proposal for Commission presentation. No public outcome note is visible yet. 

• 19–20 March 2026 —European Council endorses "One Europe, One Market" agenda 
  

  EU leaders launched the "One Europe, One Market" agenda and named the 28th regime for company law as a priority measure for 2026. The conclusions call on the co-legislators to adopt the regime by the end of 2026, on the basis of the Commission proposal of 18 March. António Costa confirmed at the post-summit press conference that timelines should be implemented by end of 2027 but mostly this year, in 2026. No new legal text — political direction and deadlines.

  Sources: European Council conclusions · Costa press conference

  
  

• 18 March 2026 — Commission publishes the EU Inc. / 28th-regime proposal package
  
  The Commission has now published the EU Inc. package: the Communication “Towards a 28th regime for EU companies”, the Proposal for an EU Inc. corporate legal framework, the annex, factsheet, and the impact-assessment papers. This is the real shift from expectation to text: the debate can now move from timing to substance.
  
  Early reading of the published text: EU Inc. is harmonised, but not fully centralised. Registration still runs through national register infrastructure / BRIS, the central digital register comes later, and specialised courts are optional. This is likely to become one of the main negotiation points.
  
  EU Inc. document hub
  Q&A on EU Inc.
  European Council conclusions, 19 March 2026

• 24 Feb 2026 — FISC hearing: "Feasibility of a 28th tax regime"
  
  Parliament's tax subcommittee held a public hearing on whether tax-policy elements (barrier removal, incentives, administrative coordination) could accompany the forthcoming EU-Inc / 28th-regime proposal. Hearing page with all submitted documents.
  
  
• 16 Feb 2026 — President von der Leyen  “One Europe, One Market” roadmap
  
  President von der Leyen describes a “One Europe, One Market” roadmap with five building blocks. The key insight: EU-Inc is being positioned as single-market infrastructure, not a “startup perk”. That’s why it’s bundled with “simplification” and “digital” — the EU is trying to remove friction that makes cross-border scaling feel like operating in 27 parallel systems.
  

• 20 Jan 2026 — Parliament adopts recommendations (major milestone)
  
  The European Parliament adopted its resolution with recommendations to the Commission on the 28th regime (procedure 2025/2079(INL)). This resolution now formally feeds into the Commission’s drafting work.
  
  

• 16 Jan 2026 — Parliament previews priorities ahead of the plenary vote
  
  Parliament’s press materials outlined priorities for a new legal framework (incl. fast digital formation and cross-border recognition), ahead of the vote. The link is here.
  

• 30 Sep 2025 — Stakeholder consultation closed
  
  The Parliament’s Legislative Train file notes the stakeholder consultation concluded on 30 September 2025.
  

Primary documents (quick links)

EP adopted text (20 Jan 2026): P10_TA(2026)0002

OEIL procedure file: 2025/2079(INL)

EP press release (16 Jan 2026)

Legislative Train (tracking page)

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-a-new...

Commission Work Programme 2026 (explained PDF)