Last week, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a landmark initiative for Europe’s innovation landscape: the creation of a new pan-European company framework, officially named EU-Inc.
This announcement represents a significant shift in how European startups, innovators, and future-oriented companies can grow, scale, and operate across borders within the European Union.
Despite access to a single market of over 450 million consumers, many European startups have struggled to scale beyond national borders. Regulatory fragmentation remains one of the most persistent barriers to growth.
As the President of EU Commission stated in Davos:
“We live in an age where capital and data can cross Europe in a second. And business must be able to move just as freely. But as things stand, too many companies have to look abroad to grow and scale up.”
In practice, startups expanding into another EU Member State must navigate different legal systems, administrative procedures, and corporate rules. This complexity discourages pan-European expansion, slows innovation, and has pushed many European founders to incorporate in the U.S. market - leading to a continuous drain of talent and capital from Europe.
The EU-Inc initiative emerged in response to the longstanding challenge posed by fragmented corporate regulations, which have historically constrained the expansion of European startups. Recognizing these systemic barriers, founders, investors, and industry stakeholders consistently advocated for the establishment of a harmonized, EU-wide legal framework to facilitate seamless cross-border growth.
Consequently, following extensive expert consultations and multifaceted policy deliberations, the initiative evolved into what is now referred to as the “28th regime” - a unified EU framework specifically designed to enable startups to scale efficiently while operating coherently across all Member States.
EU-Inc is conceived as an optional, EU-wide legal entity, allowing startups to incorporate once and operate across all EU Member States under a unified framework.
Collectively, these measures establish a novel foundation for the European startup ecosystem, thereby facilitating not only the scaling of companies but also the attraction of cross-border investment with enhanced confidence and operational efficiency.
For MeOut Group, the EU-Inc announcement represents an important step towards a more integrated European innovation ecosystem. A unified corporate framework like EU-Inc does not only benefit startups, it also strengthens innovation ecosystems, improves access to talent, and creates new opportunities for education-driven and impact-oriented projects.
As Europe takes concrete steps toward a more integrated innovation landscape, MeOut Group remains committed to fostering dialogue, collaboration, and education at the intersection of policy, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
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