EU-INC: The EU’s answer for Tech Autonomy and Global Competition

Europe is about to get its own “Silicon Valley‑style” company form. The European Union is moving ahead with EU‑INC. This is a proposed unified legal company structure designed to make it easier for startups and tech firms to launch and scale across all 27 member states. The idea is simple: instead of wrestling with 27 different national legal frameworks, founders will be able to operate under a single pan‑European legal identity. This uniform legal form can be seen as the so‑called “28th regime”.

To start with, speed and simplicity characterise EU-INC. Under the plan, companies can register online within 48 hours in any member state, without notaries or heavy paperwork. Automatically, cutting formation time and costs for young firms. This digital‑first approach is meant to mirror the frictionless experience entrepreneurs expect from unified platforms in the United States or China.

A key feature of the proposal is a Central Registry. This can be seen as a single digital register for EU‑INC entities at the European level and provide transparency, legal certainty, and easier cross‑border operations. Furthermore, founders would not need to file separate registrations in multiple countries; instead, one entry in the Central Registry would cover their pan‑European presence. Additionally, still allowing them to keep a physical seat in one member state.

The political push behind EU‑INC is coming straight from the EU-elite. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen used her address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year (January 2026) to publicly back the initiative. Moreover, she framed it as a strategic tool to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. She argued that Europe must stop losing talent & capital and instead build a single, coherent legal space where startups can grow as easily as in the US or China.

For the domestic economy, especially in the digital and tech sectors, EU‑INC is seen as a potential game‑changer. By removing legal fragmentation and lowering entry barriers, the structure aims to boost investment, hiring, and innovation across the bloc. In addition, by enabling companies to relocate their registered office from one member state to another without dissolving and re‑incorporating, it further strengthens the EU’s attractiveness for startups and scale‑ups. Advocates argue that a true “28th regime” would turn the EU-market from a patchwork of national rules into a genuine unified business zone for startups.

For Europe’s tech ecosystem, EU‑INC could be the turning point that allows the continent to compete as a unified rival instead of a fractioned Europe against the US and China on the world stage. Initiatives like this boost a new Europe; a new independent Europe one that is more integrated, more innovative, and more unified at the global stage.