In her annual State of the European Union (SOTEU) speech, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the need to implement the 28th regime, the concept of a unified European market, to support companies building critical tech by easing cross-border investment processes.
The 28th regime is being prepared as part of efforts to support high-potential startups in critical tech sectors, such as clean tech, AI, quantum, and more, aiming to address the lack of risk capital in Europe and prevent the loss of jobs and technological sovereignty to foreign investors.
Von der Leyen stated “We are preparing the so called 28th regime, and speeding up the work on the savings and investment union, because we have many high potential startups in key technologies like quantum, AI and biotech, but as they grow, the limited availability of risk capital forces them to turn to foreign investors, and this is wealth and jobs going elsewhere, and it jeopardizes our tech sovereignty.”
The 28th regime would create a legal framework laying the foundation for the grassroots EU Inc initiative, which looks to create a unified pan-European entity with harmonized processes and requirements. This is in hopes to ease the investment process, removing the oft-cited “European fragmentation” as a barrier to investment in Europe.
According to Von der Leyen, the IMF estimated that internal barriers within the single market are equivalent to a 45% tariff on goods and even a 100% tariff on services. This underscores the need for the EU Inc initiative, particularly to support the tech industries that will power European leadership.
“The single market remains incomplete, mostly in three domains, finance, energy, and telecommunications. So we need clear political deadlines, and this is why I will present a single market roadmap to 2028 on capital, on services, on energy, on telecoms, on the 28th regime and the fifth freedom for knowledge and innovation.”
How can you help?
The European Commission has opened the conversation to European society, and welcomes your feedback, experience, and thoughts on the 28th regime. The public consultation period is open until September 30, 2025.
EU Inc has published the links to the consultation page, along with helpful step-by-step guides on their website. Fill them out and let’s build a unified market with less paperwork, fewer obstacles, and more investment.
