The 28th Regime: Current Status & Realistic Timeline
A Commission proposal is finally on the table, but the 28th regime is still a bill in negotiation, not a company form you can register today.
Here is exactly where the "EU Inc" 28th regime stands as of July 2026: the European Commission has published a formal proposal, but it is not law, registration is not open, and there is no confirmed launch date. Lawmakers are aiming to agree on the text by the end of 2026, but that is a political target, not a promise. Anyone quoting you a firm "go-live" date is guessing.
This is the status page, so honesty is the whole point. We are an independent service that lets founders join a waitlist to register an EU Inc the moment it becomes legally possible. We are not affiliated with the EU, and we cannot tell you it will definitely happen on schedule, or at all in its current shape. What we can do is lay out the real milestones, explain why the EU process has no fixed finish line, and be clear about what has and hasn't happened. For the background, see what EU Inc is and why founders want it.
The short version
The idea has industry backing and political momentum. The policy groundwork is done. A draft law now exists. What remains is the hard part: the European Parliament and the 27 member states have to negotiate and agree on a final text, adopt it, and then wait out an application period before the first company can be registered. Each of those steps can move, stall, or reshape the regime.
Stage-by-stage status
| Stage | Status | What happened / what's left |
|---|---|---|
| Idea & industry backing | Done | The "EU Inc" open letter and petition launched in late 2024, backed by a broad group of European founders and venture investors and reportedly gathering tens of thousands of signatures. |
| Policy & expert reports | Done | The Letta report (2024) on the single market and the Draghi report (September 2024) on competitiveness fed the case; von der Leyen's 2024–2029 political guidelines referenced a "28th regime." |
| Parliament initiative | Done | The European Parliament adopted a legislative-initiative (own-initiative) report pushing the Commission to act. |
| Commission proposal | Done | In March 2026 the Commission published its proposal (a draft Regulation). This is the formal starting gun for the legislative procedure. |
| Parliament & Council negotiation | In progress | The proposal is now with the co-legislators. This is where it currently sits, and where the biggest unknowns are. |
| Adoption (becomes law) | Not yet | Requires agreement between Parliament and Council on one final text. Target: end of 2026, but not guaranteed. |
| Application & first registrations | Future | Even after adoption, the rules are expected to apply only after a delay (reported as around twelve months). Registration opens then — not on the day it's adopted. |
How the EU legislative process works, and where this sits
Understanding the process explains why no honest source can hand you a launch date.
Most EU laws of this kind go through the ordinary legislative procedure (sometimes called co-decision). At a high level it runs like this:
- Commission proposes. The European Commission drafts and publishes a proposal. For EU Inc, this has happened. That step is complete.
- Parliament and Council co-decide. The European Parliament (directly elected MEPs) and the Council of the EU (ministers from the 27 member states) each work out their own position on the text, then negotiate a common version. Both must agree for it to pass. This is the stage EU Inc is in now.
- Adoption. Once both institutions sign off on identical wording, the act is formally adopted and published.
- Entry into force and application. A law can enter into force but only start to apply later, after a transition period so member states and registries can prepare. Registration becomes possible at the application date, not before.
There is no fixed clock on the negotiation stage. It can take months or years, and the text that comes out can differ substantially from what went in.
What's genuinely still open
This isn't a rubber-stamp. Within the European Parliament's lead committee and among member states, real disagreements are on the table. Based on reporting around the proposal, the contested questions include:
- Who qualifies — should EU Inc be open to all companies, or limited to startups and smaller firms?
- The legal instrument — whether it stays a directly applicable Regulation or shifts toward a Directive, which changes how uniform the regime is across countries.
- Scope limits — whether certain sectors are excluded, or whether an EU Inc can list publicly.
These aren't cosmetic. They affect whether a given founder would even be eligible, so we're deliberately not promising you specifics about the final rules.
What could speed it up or slow it down
Speed it up: the political will is unusually strong. The Commission has asked the co-legislators to reach agreement by the end of 2026, and the European Council has flagged the 28th regime as a priority. A first-reading deal between Parliament and Council could land the law relatively quickly.
Slow it down: the disagreements above are real, EU negotiations routinely slip past their targets, and elections, national vetoes in Council, or a heavily amended text can all add time. Even if adoption happens on schedule, the expected application delay means the first registrations would realistically come later than the adoption date. Treat any specific quarter you see cited as an optimistic scenario, not a commitment.
How to stay informed, and what "getting ready" means
You can follow this yourself through primary sources: the European Parliament's Legislative Train Schedule tracks the file, and the Commission's proposal documents are public. Those will always be more authoritative than any third party, including us.
"Getting ready" today does not mean registering anything, because you can't. It means understanding whether the regime would fit your company, watching the eligibility debate, and keeping your existing structure clean so you can move if and when it launches. If you're based outside the EU, the eligibility questions matter even more — see non-EU founders.
Honest bottom line
The 28th regime went from a founder petition to a real, published draft law in under two years, which is fast by EU standards. That's genuine progress. But a proposal is not a law, a target date is not a launch date, and registration is not open. We'll update this page as the file moves.
If you want to be notified the moment EU Inc registration actually becomes possible, and not a day sooner, you can join the EU Inc waitlist. No date is promised, because none exists.