What EU Inc. means for businesses scaling across Europe

Let’s be honest…policy announcements rarely make you sit up and go “yes!”. But EU Inc. - the European Commission’s vision for a 28th Regime - might just be one of those rare game changers. 

At Pleo, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to remove friction so teams can focus on what matters most. EU Inc. feels like that same ethos for ambitious and innovative businesses. 

But what does it mean, why should founders care, and how could it reshape the way European companies grow? Let’s unpack it. 

The hidden tax on European ambition 

On paper, Europe is a single market. In practice, it’s anything but. 

As our CEO and Co-Founder, Jeppe Rindom, points out:

“Growing a business in Europe today can feel less like scaling and more like restarting - a reality that drains time, capital and momentum just when companies should be accelerating.” 

For founders, expanding beyond a home market often means navigating a fresh set of corporate laws, employment rules and compliance requirements (to name just a few!)...all before hiring a single new employee or signing a new customer. 

Jeppe sees how this fragmentation quietly acts as a tax on ambition: 

“Founders aren’t short on ideas or drive, but they are forced to divert energy away from building products and serving customers, and towards legal work that adds little competitive value.”

So, what is EU Inc. exactly?

Imagine a Europe where: 

• A company could be incorporated a single time and recognised across all EU member states - no need to rebuild the legal setup with every new market. 
• Company confirmation could be fully digital and completed in as little as 48 hours.
• Investment documents and stock-option frameworks are standardised, making it easier to raise capital and reward teams wherever they’re based.
• Companies based in the UK or Switzerland that have an EU Inc. entity would have a single, friction-free gateway to the entire Union, rather than managing a patchwork of different national subsidiaries. 

EU Inc. would sit alongside existing national legal frameworks, giving founders the choice to operate under national law or opt into the EU Inc. regime. 

One framework where everyone wins 

EU Inc. isn’t a one-size-fits-all story. Its impact will look different depending on where a business is in its growth journey. 

For start-ups, it’s about speed. Faster, digital-first incorporation and simpler equity frameworks mean founders can focus on building and funding, not paperwork. 

For SMEs, it’s about confidence. A single corporate framework could make cross-border expansion feel like a natural next step. 

For established companies, it’s about clarity at scale. Operating across multiple markets often means layers of entities and governance. EU Inc. could bring much-needed consistency to how large legal teams structure and incentivise across borders. 

According to Jeppe, that’s the real shift:

“Removing complexity as companies grow means ambition scales clearly at every stage of a business’ growth trajectory.”

More than cutting red tape 

It’s easy to look at EU Inc. as just a paperwork shortcut, but the bigger promise here is a fundamental mindset change. 

For decades, European founders have been vocal about how fragmentation acts as a ceiling on their growth. By proposing the 28th Regime, the European Commission is making a public commitment to the builders: it’s an acknowledgement that your time is better spent on product-market fit than on navigating 27 different legal labyrinths.

This decision legitimises ambition. It shows a clear shift towards a Europe that acts as a cohesive economic force, one capable of enabling high-growth businesses to scale with the same ease and speed as their counterparts in the US.

What this means for European businesses 

If EU Inc. becomes reality, start-ups won’t need to think in terms of “home markets” anymore. The entire EU (of 450 million people, no less) would be their launchpad. The economic case for this change is supported by several critical trends:

• Scale-up gap: Europe holds its own when it comes to launching start-ups. But we lag when it’s time to scale, with 80% fewer scale-ups and 85% fewer unicorns than the US. This glass ceiling is largely attributed to the friction of operating across 27 different legal systems.
• Talent drain: Between 2008 and 2021, nearly 30% of European unicorns relocated their headquarters outside the EU (most often to the US) to find a more unified legal and funding environment.
• Slow capital flow: Venture capital investment in EU firms is currently 6 to 8 times lower than in the US. A unified "28th Regime" would make European firms attractive to global investors who currently avoid the cost of due diligence across 27 different insolvency and shareholder laws.
• The cost of crossing borders: Expanding across Europe today comes with a hefty price tag, with up to €1.2 million in compliance and legal costs in the first year alone. EU Inc. could turn that into a one-time, digital-first setup recognised across the bloc.
  
  

Put simply, EU Inc. aims to flip the script. It points toward a future where "European" is an edge rather than a logistical hurdle. Or as Jeppe puts it:

“That is why EU Inc. is a green light for innovation. It challenges Europe’s reputation for complexity and slow execution. When Europe behaves like one market, scale follows.”

How Pleo clears the path for the new age of growth 

At Pleo, we’ve always believed that fragmentation is the enemy of momentum. We’re talking about EU Inc. because its philosophy is identical to ours: removing the friction that slows teams down. 

For Pleo customers, a more unified Europe means faster expansion with less financial chaos. While EU Inc. handles the legal friction, Pleo handles the operational friction–with a platform purpose-built for how European businesses grow. 

Our all-in-one platform gives finance teams the real-time visibility and control they need to plan budgets and forecast spend across multiple territories with total confidence, ensuring that as your legal footprint simplifies, your financial control stays ironclad.

We see this legislative shift as the final piece of the puzzle for the modern European business. As Jeppe notes:

"Now we have our turning point. If we stay the course, we can build a Europe where nothing stands in the way of innovation."

Looking forward 

We’re still in the early stages, as a formal legislative proposal for EU Inc. is expected as soon as March 2026. The real test will be in the details: how well it connects with national tax systems, labour laws, and social protections.

However, the momentum gathered throughout 2025 and into early 2026 suggests this is a genuine attempt to fix one of Europe’s most persistent innovation bottlenecks. By moving towards a digital-first, unified framework, the EU is finally matching its policy to the speed of modern business. 

We’ll be watching closely as this evolves, ensuring that as Europe becomes easier to navigate, Pleo remains the solution that makes your finance effortless and growth inevitable. 

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