The presentation by the European Commission on Wednesday 18 March (see other news) of its 28th Regime and the new type of company known as EuInc. gave rise to divergent reactions in the European Parliament, but generally satisfied the business world.
For the EPP, the Commission took “a major step towards making it easier to start and run businesses across Europe, helping SMEs and start-ups grow, scale, and compete globally”.
“Our message is clear: Europe should be the best place to start and grow a company. Europe is full of great ideas and great minds; we just have to give them the opportunity to grow”, concluded Axel Voss (EPP, German).
For René Repasi (S&D, German), author of a European Parliament own-initiative report, “the option to set up a company quickly and digitally – within 48 hours – without minimum share capital requirements, flexible governance tools, boosted access to investment, and the harmonisation of ESOs (stock options) to allow companies to attract and retain talent – these are all vital steps for the integration of our internal market”.
However, “important and substantial elements are missing from the proposal, such as genuine rules on asset locks to prevent killer acquisitions and prevent abuse regarding creditor protection, labour law and employee board participation. Without robust safeguards, the company form risks misuse by charlatans and irresponsible actors from the outset”.
For Estelle Ceulemans (S&D, Belgian), this measure was certainly “eagerly awaited by many SMEs facing major obstacles to their development on a European scale”, but it “also gives rise to major concerns”.
“In Europe, employees’ and workers’ rights are in principle linked to the workplace, but this is clearly undermined by the 28th Regime... Indeed, while simplification is a desirable objective, we cannot accept further deregulation, which would allow companies to make their market and choose to register in countries with more flexible regulations, while carrying out their activities elsewhere”, she reacted.
Renew Europe, for its part, “wholeheartedly welcomes this proposal”. One of Renew Europe's key priorities “will be to enshrine a harmonisation of stock option schemes”, adds the group, while “one of the ways start-ups can attract talents is to offer them discounted stocks that they will be able to sell for much more when the start up has succeeded”. But at present, the Member States do not have the same rules for this system.
For the employers’ association BusinessEurope, this proposal is “a positive development for competitiveness”. The organisation also praises the fact that the 28th Regime is proposed in the form of a regulation and that it is open to all types of company. “We welcome the focus primarily on company law as including other areas such as labour law would generate long debates (including on EU competences) and seriously delay or jeopardise the chances of adoption”.
Eurochambres (chambers of commerce in the EU Member States), for its part, generally welcomes the proposal that, in order to achieve its objective, the scheme should focus on digitisation and one-stop shopping. “National business registries should remain the cornerstone of the framework, providing the trusted infrastructure needed for the system to function effectively”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)