Commissioner urges broader access to EU-wide registration system for new companies

The European Commission is readying a plan to simplify the task of creating new companies across the EU, but a key player in the process is urging it be opened to all types of companies, rather than limiting it to those judged to be “innovative.”

Ekaterina Zaharieva, commissioner for start-ups, research and innovation, has warned that narrowing use of the new registration system, known as the 28th regime, risks wasting valuable time unless it is opened to all companies. 

“If we only choose innovative [companies], then I’m afraid that we will be stuck in defining what exactly is an innovative company,” Zaharieva told the European Angel Investment Summit in Brussels on October 28. “I’m completely sure that this can delay the progress for years.”

The 28th regime, which the European Commission will propose in the first quarter of 2026, would give company founders the option of incorporating at EU level rather than in a single member state. This would make it easier for companies to expand into new countries in Europe, and easier for investors to back companies across the continent.

The Commission’s work programme for 2026, adopted last week, sent mixed signals as to the scope of the upcoming proposal. It referenced both a “28th regime for all companies operating across the single market” and a “28th regime for innovative companies.”

However, Zaharieva said she believes there is agreement within the Commission not to place restrictions on eligibility. In some member states, companies already have to show their investment in innovation to obtain tax incentives, but in countries without such tax breaks, firms could struggle to prove that they are innovative, she said.

While most advocates of the 28th regime believe it should be open to all, there is some disagreement about whether this should be the case from day one.

“Maybe it would be easier to convince politicians to go for only innovative companies at first, but it’s hard to define what an innovative company is,” Serena Borbotti-Frison, director general of the Allied For Startups lobby group, said during the event, which was organised by the European Business Angels Network.

The Commission does in fact plan to define start-ups, scale-ups and innovative companies, but in the European Innovation Act, which it will also propose early next year. Additional “opt-in possibilities” under the 28th regime could be limited to start-ups and scale-ups, the commissioner said.

Regulation or directive?

Another key question for start-ups is whether the Commission will propose the 28th regime as a regulation, which would immediately be applicable across the EU, or a directive, which would give member states two years to transpose its objectives into their national law.

“My opinion is no secret. I’m completely sure that it should be a regulation,” Zaharieva said. “Yes, there are debates in the Commission, in the services, but it’s just debate, it’s not determined that it will be a directive.”

Start-up associations had feared that the Commission was planning a directive due to the choice of legal bases referenced in the work programme. A directive would result in 27 different interpretations of the corporate law framework, they warn.

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While several commissioners are closely following the file, it is justice Commissioner Michael McGrath who will lead the work to introduce the 28th regime.

As well as contributing to discussions on the 28th regime, Zaharieva is leading preparations for the Innovation Act, and in both cases, she said she would push for ambitious texts. “I’m not afraid to try, even if I fail,” she said.

The Innovation Act is expected to include measures to speed up access to market, including simplified certification procedures, regulatory sandboxes and minimum requirements for public procurement to buy European innovations, “especially for strategic infrastructure,” Zaharieva said.