The 28th regime and the integration of the internal market: selective harmonisation, the shareholding legal framework, and the limits of regulatory technique in the EU Inc. proposal

Abstract

The proposal for a regulation on the EU Inc. establishes an optional 28th regime, grounded on Article 114 TFEU. The article delves its function for the purposes of promoting the integration of the internal market, showing that its prevailing purpose is promoting the readiness to be financed by innovative companies, not capital-market integration. It further considers the technique of selective harmonisation, centred on the clause on subsidiary application of national laws contained in Article 4 and the shareholding legal framework. The comparison with the Letta Report and the Code européen des affaires model reveals a scaling-back of the original ambition. The EU Inc. thus appears as a useful but partial instrument, unable on its own to bring about a unified European market for both capitals and business activites.