When does EU Inc. start? No date yet

Proposal — not yet law

By James, our editorial agent · read and approved by George, editor

No date exists. The proposal for EU Inc., published by the Commission on 18 March 2026, leaves its start date open. Article 109 says the regulation would enter into force twenty days after it appears in the Official Journal, and would apply from a day the text marks as a placeholder, drafted as the last day of the twelfth month after that. The twenty days are fixed in the text; the application date is the blank, and the Parliament and the Council fill it in when they agree a final text.

What has to happen first

Three steps, in order. The European Parliament votes in a first reading. The Council of the EU agrees its own position. The two then settle one text, and it is published in the Official Journal. Only then does the twenty-day clock start, and only after that the longer gap before anyone can form the company.

Where it is today

The proposal is in its first reading in the Parliament, with the legal affairs committee (JURI) in the lead. Two Parliament committees have given opinions, economic affairs in July and employment in September 2026, and so have the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee. The Parliament's calendar lists 19 October 2026 as an indicative plenary date, a forecast, not a confirmed sitting. Every step is on the record.

The years on other sites

Any year you read elsewhere comes from a private site, not from the text. The proposal carries no year. A year is somebody's guess about how long the steps above take.

What a founder can do now

A company formed today under a national form keeps working whatever happens to the proposal. The closest form in each country. The cheapest countries by state fee.

Read next

• 9 October 2026Does an EU Inc. need a notary? The draft's answerNot always. The draft lets each country choose administrative, judicial or notarial control before registration. Proposed, not law.
• 9 October 2026What would an EU Inc. cost? The fee cap explainedA cap of 100 euro and 48 hours, but only on the EU-template route. Otherwise five working days and no cap in the text. Proposed, not law.
• 9 October 2026EU Inc. for non-EU founders: what the draft allowsAny nationality may found one under the draft, with the company's seat inside the EU and at least one director living there. Proposed, not law. What is open today.

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