EU Commission proposes new EU Inc. start-up legal form

The EU Commission's proposal provides for a uniform, fully digital corporate form for the entire EU single market. The goal: to replace the complexity of 27 legal systems and over 60 national company forms and to radically simplify the founding and scaling of companies across national borders. Provided for are: digital incorporation without a notary, digital shareholder meetings, a simplified insolvency procedure, ESOP arrangements (employee participation). The interconnection of national commercial registers via the BRIS system is planned as a first step. The proposal still has to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.

Criticism from the start-up scene (including Simon Schäfer, Verena Pausder): the proposal falls short of the stated goal of creating a European alternative to the US Delaware C-Corp. Main point of criticism: there is no overarching company-law directive – in the case of shareholder disputes, 27 different national legal interpretations still apply. The EU Commission assumes that EU Inc. will be used above all for new incorporations, not for conversions of existing companies.