As is well known, the European Commission (Commission) announced the "28th Regime" in its Competitiveness Compass, published in January 2025, as part of a comprehensive set of actions aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the European economy. The "28th Regime" was envisioned to be established to enable innovative companies to benefit from a uniform, harmonized set of rules across the European Union (EU), including matters related to company law, insolvency, labor, and tax law. Furthermore, as one of the outcomes of the EU Summit meeting in March, the Commission was invited to propose an optional 28th company law regime to enable innovative companies to scale up. Similarly, the importance of the 28th Regime was emphasized in the Information on the Savings and Investments Union, the Single Market Strategy, and the Start-up and Scale-up Strategy.

In this context, on July 8, 2025, the Commission launched a public consultation process for a period of 12 weeks. The key points highlighted in the "Call for Opinions for the Impact Assessment," a copy of which is included in the annex, detailing the process, are presented below:

1. The current lack of uniformity in legal frameworks across Member States is leading to a decline in the commercial activities of companies in the Single Market and missed opportunities.

2. In other words, even if companies, including innovative companies, start-ups, and scale-ups, can benefit from the recently enacted EU Company Law digital solutions and tools, they will continue to face differing national requirements that limit their potential to establish, operate, and attract investment across the EU.

3. Indeed, business associations and startups; They emphasized that procedures for establishing and investing in companies are not sufficiently digital, easy, and fast, and that non-uniform rules hinder scaling up in the EU.

4. Therefore, the calls for a 28th Regime primarily emphasize the lack of a unified company law framework for the establishment and operations of companies across the EU, as well as the complexity and costs arising from different national rules and requirements regarding the establishment, structure, and operations of companies.

5. The 28th Regime will potentially provide a single set of rules in a phased and structured manner, and by incorporating an EU Company Law framework built on digital solutions, it will help companies overcome obstacles in establishing, scaling up, and operating companies across the Single Market.

6. The policy change to be made in this context; It will build on existing fully online procedures for companies (establishment, registration), the use of the "one-time only" principle (businesses only provide information to public administrations, and this information is shared internally between administrations as necessary, while adhering to data protection rules) through the Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS), and digital tools such as the European Unique Identifier (EUID) and the EU Company Certificate (i.e., an EU company ID card compatible with the European Digital Identity Framework).

7. This initiative will complement other initiatives aimed at addressing the obstacles faced by companies in the EU, including the European Innovation Act and the European Business Booklet initiative.

8. The "28. Structure and key elements of Regime companies"; This could include determining the basic elements of such companies, The type of company, who can establish it and how, The minimum capital requirement, and The possible use of a different name and abbreviation for 28th Regime companies.

9. “Simple, flexible, and rapid procedures and rules for the establishment and operation of 28th Regime companies”; Making other procedures, including the establishment of these companies, ideally within 48 hours, and their closure, faster and more efficient through digital solutions and tools; Applying the “one-time only” principle between business registries and other national authorities responsible for business procedures, such as business and tax authorities, through the sharing of company information; Methods to make the management of 28th Regime companies more flexible (this could also include the use of the EU Business Booklet, which is expected in the coming period).

10. “Attracting investment in 28th Regime companies”; Options for simplifying capital increases for these companies through digital solutions and tools, and This may include methods such as using different share classes, share transfer rules, or private equity investment agreements to attract investors.

11. Regarding the potential impacts of the planned 28th Regime, it is anticipated that it will: promote economic growth, support innovation, create new jobs, increase the EU"s global competitiveness, and provide broad benefits to European society by supporting a dynamic and integrated ecosystem of startups and scale-ups.

12. An impact assessment will be prepared to contribute to the development of this initiative and inform the Commission"s decision, and the legislative proposal is expected to be adopted in the first quarter of 2026.

13. In addition to the public consultation on this initiative, the planned activities are as follows: Within the framework of the High-Level Forum on Justice for Growth, discussions with EU-level stakeholders, including member states and EU-level social partners, were held. Discussions with corporate law academic experts within the Informal Expert Group on Company Law and Corporate Governance (ICLEG); and additional targeted consultations with entrepreneurs, companies, and social partners (2nd to 4th quarter of 2025).

The target audience for the 14th public consultation process, while open to contributions from all stakeholders, was specifically: Innovative companies, startups, and scale-ups; Representatives of business and industry associations; Entrepreneurs, investors; Lawyers and legal professionals; Member state authorities, particularly business registry authorities; Unions; Academics.

Detailed information regarding the Call for Comments process, which will last until 30 September 2025, can be found at the link below.

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14674-28th-regime-a-single-harmonized-set-of-rules-for-innovative-companies-throughout-the-EU_en