If you follow European tech policy, you've seen the phrase "28th regime" everywhere in the last couple of years. It's the core concept behind EU INC — and it's worth understanding properly, because it tells you exactly what EU INC is and what it isn't.
Why 28?
The European Union has 27 member states. Each has its own corporate law — its own rules on forming a company, running a board, issuing shares, filing accounts, and so on. That's 27 regimes.
A "28th regime" is a legal framework that sits on top of those 27, created at EU level, and available to anyone who wants to opt in. It doesn't replace national law. It doesn't harmonise national law. It adds an additional, parallel option.
EU INC is that option for company formation.
The general pattern
28th-regime thinking isn't unique to company law. EU policymakers have floated it — and in some cases implemented it — in other areas:
- Contract law (the proposed Common European Sales Law).
- Patents (the Unitary Patent, which gives you one patent valid across most of the EU).
- Payments (elements of SEPA function like a 28th regime for retail payments).
- Social security coordination (for certain cross-border workers).
Each case follows the same logic: the national systems stay in place, but a European layer gets added on top for situations where national rules don't scale.
Why this matters for EU INC
The "28th regime" framing is critical to EU INC because it tells you three things immediately:
1. EU INC is optional.
No founder is forced to use it. Your existing GmbH, SAS or BV continues to exist, unchanged. EU INC is simply available for companies who want it.
2. EU INC is complete, standalone EU law.
EU INC isn't a national form wearing a European costume. It's a legal entity governed directly by EU regulation. That's why it's automatically recognised across all 27 member states — the law creating it applies uniformly.
3. EU INC doesn't harmonise away national choice.
Because EU INC is additional rather than replacement, national governments don't lose corporate-law autonomy. That's politically essential — it's what makes the regulation viable at Council level.
Why not just harmonise national company law?
A fair question — and one the EU has explored before. Harmonising corporate law across 27 countries is extraordinarily hard. Each member state has deep, interlocking rules on capital, governance, co-determination, tax and insolvency. Agreeing a single common framework that everyone accepts is effectively impossible in any politically realistic timeframe.
A 28th regime sidesteps that impasse. Member states keep their national systems intact — and a new, cleaner, purpose-built European form is added for companies who want it.
Why the concept is particularly good for startups
Modern startups are the clearest case where national corporate law doesn't scale. A typical seed-stage European company in 2026 might have:
- Two co-founders in two different countries.
- Engineers in another three.
- Angel investors in five.
- Customers in ten.
No national corporate framework is designed around that reality. A 28th regime can be designed around it — because it's starting from the assumption that the company is European, not national, from day one. For wider political context on why this is moving now, see Politico EU's reporting on the proposal.
The political path
For EU INC to become law, the regulation needs:
- Commission proposal (active).
- European Parliament review and vote.
- Council of the EU agreement (this is typically the hardest step).
- Final adoption and publication in the Official Journal.
The 28th-regime framing helps here too: because no national regime is being forced to change, member-state resistance is lower than it would be for a full harmonisation. That's why many observers are more optimistic about EU INC's chances than previous attempts at European company-law reform. The proposal was formally announced by the European Commission in March 2026 as part of a package to make business easier across the Union.
What this means for companies
Two practical takeaways:
- You don't need to panic. If you're already a GmbH, SAS or BV, nothing changes for you unless you choose for it to.
- You get a new, better option. When EU INC goes live, you'll have an additional — and for many companies, clearly superior — way to structure your European business.