The CoR has adopted an urgent opinion supporting the creation of EU Inc., a new European corporate legal framework designed to help companies operate more easily across borders and overcome the fragmentation that continues to hold back Europe's economic potential. 

The opinion was led by rapporteur Roberta Angelilli, ECR member and Vice-President of the Lazio Region, who described the initiative as a “crucial step” towards establishing a genuine European "28th regime" for businesses and responds to a “long-standing challenge” facing the European economy. While Europe is highly successful at creating innovative companies, it often struggles to help them scale up and compete internationally.  

“EU Inc. represents the first concrete step towards the creation of a genuine European 28th regime for businesses,” said Angelilli. “It can provide a practical answer to the fragmentation that still limits the full potential of the Single Market. The opinion highlights that companies seeking to expand beyond their home country currently face a patchwork of 27 different corporate, administrative and legal systems. This complexity generates significant costs, administrative burdens and legal uncertainty, particularly for start-ups and SMEs looking to grow across the European Union.  

“Europe is very effective at helping innovative businesses emerge, but it still faces considerable difficulties when those companies need to grow, expand and compete on a European and global scale.” Angelilli said. The rapporteur welcomed the Commission's proposal as a pragmatic initiative to simplify and digitalise company creation and corporate procedures. The opinion also supports an inclusive scope for the new regime, covering all businesses, arguing that limiting it only to start-ups or innovative companies would risk creating new complexities precisely when businesses enter their growth phase. 

To ensure the proposal delivers tangible benefits without creating new risks, the opinion introduces balanced safeguards. These include allowing company registration within two working days rather than 48 hours to ensure proper checks, strengthening protections within the simplified insolvency procedures, and calling on the Commission to assess the territorial, social, fiscal and legal implications of the new regime.  

“EU Inc. must be a simple, effective and genuinely attractive instrument for companies. Only then will the 28th regime fulfil its potential, strengthen Europe’s economic growth and enhance Europe’s ability to compete with the world's leading economic powers.” Angelilli concluded.