Keyvan Rastegar has published his thoughts on the European Commission’s EU Inc proposal in the Oxford Business Law Blog series.

In her contribution, titled “EU Inc – European Universities In New Conversations”, he explains why the proposal is much more than a technical reform of company law. The EU Inc can provide a common language and a new conversational space for European company law.

The article makes five main points.

First, the EU Inc is not merely another legal instrument. It responds to a structural issue: European company law remains fragmented, with more than 60 national legal forms that were not purpose-built to serve the four EU freedoms.

Second, reform is necessary, not optional. For startups, scaleups and companies operating across borders, the current framework is often complex, costly and difficult to scale.

Third, the Commission has made smart choices. The proposal combines uniformity under an EU regulation, freedom of contract under the articles of association, and national variance by reference to the most suitable entity in each jurisdiction. For Austria, that entity is the FlexCo.

Fourth, the proposal introduces healthy competitive energy: between 27 — or even 30 — EU Incs, more than 60 national entities, and also between registers and court decisions competing in quality. In this respect, the EU Inc could approximate some of the dynamics that contributed to Delaware’s success story.

Fifth, the Austrian experience offers important lessons: using startup and scaleup voices to improve rules for all companies, calling out special interests without hesitation, and recognising how reform dividends compound over time.

The EU Inc will not solve every challenge of European competitiveness. But it is a necessary and promising step toward a real European market.

The full contribution is available on the Oxford Business Law Blog.