European Council sets 48‑hour, €100 limit for new “EU Inc.” corporate regime
The EU’s negotiating position caps online company formation at two days and €100, but limits employee‑stock options and drops a central register.
The European Council finalized its negotiating position on the EU Inc. corporate regime on Oct. 23, 2026, promising founders the ability to incorporate a company online in just 48 hours for a fee that does not exceed €100 [1]. The framework is designed to streamline cross‑border startup formation, but it comes with strict eligibility limits: the accompanying European Employee Stock Option Plan will only apply to firms with up to 750 employees and annual turnover under €150 million [1]. Notably, the negotiating mandate also removed earlier proposals for a centralized European company register and a dedicated insolvency chapter, simplifying the legislative package [1]. “I warmly welcome the agreement on ‘EU Inc.’ reached in the Council today,” said Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin [1].
Questions and answers
What does the EU Inc. framework change for startups?
It reduces incorporation time to two days and caps the cost at €100, but applies only to small firms meeting the employee and turnover thresholds.
Why was the central European company register removed?
The Council’s mandate dropped it to avoid a complex, single‑point data repository and keep the legislation lean.
How might the eligibility caps affect larger companies?
Firms exceeding 750 staff or €150 million in revenue will not qualify for the EU‑ESO, limiting the tax‑advantaged stock‑option benefits to smaller enterprises.
Companies & investors in this story
Sources
- 1.EU Inc. survives Council negotiations, but are Europe’s founders getting what they asked for? — EU-Startups, Oct 26, 2026
