Short answer: EU Inc. is the EU's proposal for a unified European company form. On 10 September 2026, leading founders and investors published an open letter setting out five requirements — freedom of establishment, broad access, a central register, standardised employee stock options, and unchanged local employment law and taxation. Political agreement is targeted for 2026, but the company form is not expected to be available before 2029.
In March 2026 we wrote about EU Inc. — a new corporate regime for Europe, the landmark proposal for a unified European company form designed to make it easier to start and scale businesses across the EU's 27 member states. Since then, the proposal has entered the intensive legislative phase. Now voices from Europe's tech sector are rising with a clear message: make sure it actually delivers.
Tech profiles sign an open letter
A large number of founders and investors across Europe's tech sector have signed an open letter addressed to EU political leaders. Among the signatories are Daniel Ek (Spotify), Anton Osika (Lovable), Niklas Zennström (Atomico), and Victor Englesson, partner at EQT and one of the heads of the EU-backed Scaleup Europe Fund.
The message is unambiguous: EU Inc. risks being watered down in the final negotiations. “Europe has the founders, the talent, and the technology to build global leaders, but we still make it unnecessarily complicated to build and scale companies in our own market,” says Victor Englesson.
The letter sets out five concrete requirements that the signatories believe must be met for EU Inc. to become a practical tool — rather than yet another compromise project that few companies ultimately choose to use.
The five requirements for EU Inc.
1. Freedom of establishment
Founders must be able to choose in which EU member state the company is registered, without any requirement that operations also be located there. An EU Inc. company must be fully recognised across the entire single market.
2. Broad access
EU Inc. must not be restricted to “innovative companies” or companies below arbitrary size thresholds. A corporate form with a contested and shifting definition of who may use it cannot become the European standard that founders and international investors are looking for.
3. A central register
The proposal needs a common and authoritative European register — not merely an interface on top of 27 national systems. Investors, lenders, banks, and authorities should be able to rely on a single company record, with harmonised know-your-customer and beneficial ownership requirements across the EU.
4. Standardised employee stock options
Employees should be taxed only when shares are actually disposed of. No one should have to pay tax on unrealised gains — a requirement long championed by the startup community across Europe.
5. Local employment law and taxation
Employment protections should continue to apply where employees actually work, while taxes should be paid where the economic activity takes place. EU Inc. is designed to simplify company law — not to provide a route around national social or tax rules.
What happens next at EU level?
The proposal was formally published on 18 March 2026 and received political backing from the European Council the days after. The ordinary legislative procedure is now running on two parallel tracks — the Council and the Parliament.
Ireland assumed the Council Presidency on 1 July 2026 and will chair negotiations through December. In Parliament, JURI rapporteur René Repasi has presented his draft report, and Council working party sessions on company law are confirmed for September.
The Commission, Parliament, and Council all share the objective of reaching political agreement before the end of 2026 — but the co-legislative process typically takes 12 to 24 months. EU Inc. is not expected to be available to companies before 2029 at the earliest, once national implementation and integration with the EU's business register infrastructure are in place.
What does it mean for Swedish companies?
In the short term, nothing formal: Swedish limited companies remain governed by the Companies Act, and the obligation to keep an accurate share register applies exactly as before. In the longer term, the call for a central European ownership register is the most consequential element — it would change how ownership data is recorded, shared, and verified across borders.
Companies that already keep a structured, digital ownership record are best positioned. That is particularly true for companies with foreign investors, where ownership information often has to be verified quickly during a share issue or due diligence.
eAktiebok: we are following closely
One of the five requirements in the open letter — the call for a central European ownership register — is directly relevant to what we are building. Today, each EU country manages its own company information in separate systems with different requirements and formats. EU Inc. aims to change that.
We are monitoring the process closely and will adapt eAktiebok as the regulatory framework takes shape — so that Swedish and Nordic companies that choose EU Inc. as their corporate form have a digital share register ready for what is coming. The months ahead are decisive. We will return with further updates as the picture becomes clearer.
Want to know more about how EU Inc. may affect your ownership structure? Get in touch with us or see our pricing and service levels.
