The European Commission is pushing for a new initiative to create a single pan-European startup entity under a ’28th Regime’ in its 2025 Work Programme. The proposal, backed by over 13,000 signatures from tech leaders, venture capitalists, and political figures, aims to streamline cross-border operations and foster innovation across Europe. The ’28th Regime’ would harmonize corporate governance, capital requirements, and share capital maintenance rules across EU member states.
It would feature a digital-first approach with a fully digital registry, a unified dashboard, and standardized investment documents to simplify administrative processes for startups operating in multiple countries. The proposal also includes an EU-FAST investment instrument, inspired by the US’ SAFEs and France’s BSA AIRs, to standardize and expedite investment processes. It advocates for an EU-wide Employee Share Option Scheme with standardized rules to attract and retain talent.
Unified startup framework proposal
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has included the ’28th Regime’ for innovative companies in the Political Guidelines for the EU Commission. Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research, and Innovation, has announced plans to propose a framework for the ’28th Regime’ in 2025.
Andreas Klinger, Co-initiator of the initiative, highlighted the risks of inaction, stating that Europe risks falling further behind if it does not act now. The proposal’s blueprint builds upon prior documentation and incorporates insights from discussions with the startup community and policymakers across Europe. As the European Commission prepares its 2025 Work Programme, the inclusion and implementation of this proposal could mark an important step towards a more unified and dynamic European startup ecosystem.
The collective momentum from the tech community and political leaders reflects the shared recognition of the need for structural reforms to ensure Europe’s competitiveness on the global stage.
