'EU Inc' plan seeks to spur startups to rival US, China

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday allowing firms to set up in as little as 48 hours and operate according to a single set of rules across the 27-nation European Union (EU) in a bid to narrow the gap with the United States in innovative startups.

- PHILIP BLENKINSOP & A LENNON

The proposal is part of a broader EU drive to improve the 27-nation bloc’s competitiveness and avoid losing ground to the United States (US), where many European startups move to grow on a larger, unified market governed by a single corporate law.

“We are making it drastically easier to start and grow a business all across Europe,” commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Wednesday. “Any entrepreneur will be able to create a company within 48 hours, from anywhere in the European Union, and fully online.”

To the point

= EU Inc’ allows firms to set up and operate within 48 hours under a single set of rules across union's countries

= Firms to have access to the EU single market, EU-wide employee stock option plans and simplified insolvency procedures

= Aimed at startup with innovative technologies to help them to scale up

= European Commission predicts 300,000 companies to take benefit of the scheme in first 10 years