European founders and venture capitalists have urged lawmakers not to weaken the proposed EU Inc corporate status, in an open letter released on Thursday. The letter is the latest step in the EU Inc campaign, which calls for an EU-wide company statute that would let companies incorporate under a common framework and operate across the bloc.
The campaign's promoters have secured endorsements from the European Union's top authorities, but now say they are concerned the final legislation could become "unusable if its central features are weakened." Negotiations are ongoing between the European Parliament and Council to settle on a final text, with national lobbies including Germany's notaries having criticised aspects of the European Commission's proposal.
With around 100 days left before European institutions shut down for winter recess, the letter calls on policymakers to preserve the proposal, saying it has the potential to "remove much of the friction and fragmentation that continue to throttle European companies, unlock investment and spur a new wave of entrepreneurship."
The letter highlights points that "may seem like technical details, but […] separate a company form founders use from one they ignore." In particular, it insists on one central registry and that employees should be taxed only when they actually dispose of their stock options.
Investors signing the letter include Accel partner Sonali De Rycker, Sequoia partner Michael Moritz and Atomico founder Niklas Zennström. Promoters also highlighted endorsements from founders behind unicorns including Alan, ElevenLabs, Lovable, Mistral and Synthesia, some of which have their headquarters in the United States.