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The 28th regime timeline
Live timeline of the EU 28th regime for innovative companies (EU Inc.), with sources and the next political and legislative milestones.
Last updated: 8 May 2026
Commission publishes EU Inc. proposal
134-page Regulation, Communication, Annex, Impact Assessment
European Council political endorsement
Heads of state and government back the proposal at the March summit
Working Party on Company Law — Session 1
Opening of Council technical examination
Internal Market Working Party meets
EU Inc. reviewed in the broader Competitiveness Compass context
Working Party on Company Law — Sessions 2 and 3
Technical examination continued across both sessions; no public readout has appeared yet
JURI Committee examines EU Inc.
Commissioner McGrath presents the proposal to Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee; rapporteur is still pending
Working Party on Company Law — Session 4
Two-day Council session at the Europa and Lex buildings; no public readout has appeared yet
ECGI–Bocconi–LawFin academic workshop on EU Inc.
Academic workshop completed; the discussion stressed model documents, insolvency design, political adoption, and targeted harmonisation.
Working Party on Company Law — Session 5
Continued Council technical examination of the proposal
Working Party on Company Law — Sessions 6 and 7
Further Council technical examination remains on the calendar for both dates
Political target: trilogue agreement
Council and Parliament reach final text — subject to negotiation
The EU Commission published its proposal on 18 March 2026. Now two things happen in parallel: a Council track and a Parliament track. For the plain-language explainer of JURI, the rapporteur, and trilogue, see JURI, rapporteur, and trilogue.
In the Council (where EU governments negotiate), specialised working groups of civil servants meet regularly to examine the proposal in detail. They have now held four sessions, with Session 4 running across 6–7 May. No public readout has appeared from any of those sessions yet. The next calendar points are Session 5 on 18 May and later Working Party sessions on 2 June and 2 July. The COMPET ministerial Council meets on 28–29 May, but EU Inc. is not yet confirmed as an agenda item there. That ministerial meeting is the higher political layer of the same Council track, not a separate parallel workstream. This is where the real text gets shaped.
In the Parliament (where elected MEPs negotiate), the proposal has been assigned to the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI). JURI formally examined the file on 4 May, when Commissioner McGrath presented the proposal directly to MEPs. A rapporteur, the lead MEP responsible for steering the file, has still not been formally named. If you only want the short version of who does what, start with What is JURI? and who the rapporteur is.
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2 June and 2 July 2026 — Working Party on Company Law — Sessions 6 and 7 (scheduled)
Further Council technical examination remains on the calendar for both dates.
28–29 May 2026 — COMPET ministerial Council
The ministerial Council meets on those dates, but EU Inc. is not yet confirmed as an agenda item.
We are watching whether the EU Inc. / 28th-regime file is added to the agenda. Sign up to the newsletter if you want an email when that happens or when other material updates land.
18 May 2026 — Working Party on Company Law — Session 5 (scheduled)
Further Council technical examination remains on the calendar.
7 May 2026 — ECGI–Bocconi–LawFin academic workshop on EU Inc. (completed)
The workshop tested EU Inc.'s legal design across venture contracting, insolvency, political adoption, and targeted harmonisation.
Sources: ECGI workshop page · our editorial report
6–7 May 2026 — Working Party on Company Law — Session 4 (held)
Two-day session: Day 1 at the Europa Building, Day 2 at the Council Lex Building. No public readout has appeared yet.
4 May 2026 — JURI Committee — Commissioner McGrath presents EU Inc.
The European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee examined the proposal. Commissioner McGrath presented COM(2026) 321. Rapporteur appointment is formally pending. Shadow rapporteur for The Left (GUE/NGL): Arash Saeidi (France), active since 14 April.
Sources: JURI agenda · OEIL procedure file
17 and 27 April 2026 — Working Party on Company Law — Sessions 2 and 3 (held)
Technical examination continued across both sessions. No public readout, outcome note, or negotiating text has appeared yet.
23–26 March 2026 — First Council working-party discussions took place.
The Company Law working party (23 March) and the Internal Market working party (26 March) both took the EU Inc proposal for Commission presentation. No public outcome note is visible yet.
19–20 March 2026 — European Council endorses "One Europe, One Market" agenda
EU leaders launched the "One Europe, One Market" agenda and named the 28th regime for company law as a priority measure for 2026. The conclusions call on the co-legislators to adopt the regime by the end of 2026, on the basis of the Commission proposal of 18 March. António Costa confirmed at the post-summit press conference that timelines should be implemented by end of 2027 but mostly this year, in 2026. No new legal text, just political direction and deadlines.
Sources: European Council conclusions · Costa press conference
18 March 2026 — Commission publishes the EU Inc. / 28th-regime proposal package
The Commission has now published the EU Inc. package: the Communication “Towards a 28th regime for EU companies”, the Proposal for an EU Inc. corporate legal framework, the annex, factsheet, and the impact-assessment papers. This is the real shift from expectation to text: the debate can now move from timing to substance.
Early reading of the published text: EU Inc. is harmonised, but not fully centralised. Registration still runs through national register infrastructure / BRIS, the central digital register comes later, and specialised courts are optional. This is likely to become one of the main negotiation points.
EU Inc. document hub
Q&A on EU Inc.
European Council conclusions, 19 March 2026
24 Feb 2026 — FISC hearing: "Feasibility of a 28th tax regime"
Parliament's tax subcommittee held a public hearing on whether tax-policy elements (barrier removal, incentives, administrative coordination) could accompany the forthcoming EU-Inc / 28th-regime proposal. Hearing page with all submitted documents.
16 Feb 2026 — President von der Leyen “One Europe, One Market” roadmap
President von der Leyen describes a “One Europe, One Market” roadmap with five building blocks. The key insight: EU-Inc is being positioned as single-market infrastructure, not a startup perk. That’s why it’s bundled with simplification and digital. The EU is trying to remove friction that makes cross-border scaling feel like operating in 27 parallel systems.
20 Jan 2026 — Parliament adopts recommendations (major milestone)
The European Parliament adopted its resolution with recommendations to the Commission on the 28th regime (procedure 2025/2079(INL)). This resolution now formally feeds into the Commission’s drafting work.
16 Jan 2026 — Parliament previews priorities ahead of the plenary vote
Parliament’s press materials outlined priorities for a new legal framework (incl. fast digital formation and cross-border recognition), ahead of the vote. The link is here.
30 Sep 2025 — Stakeholder consultation closed
The Parliament’s Legislative Train file notes the stakeholder consultation concluded on 30 September 2025.
The Commission's EU Inc. proposal is built on Article 114 TFEU, which does not itself harmonise tax. On 16 April 2026, Parliament's Subcommittee on Tax Matters opened a parallel workstream examining whether a 28th tax regime could complement the company-law proposal.
That does not change the legal basis of the current Regulation, but it is the clearest institutional signal so far that the tax gap is being considered separately. Concrete outputs from FISC are not public yet.