This paper examines the European Commission’s proposal for an optional “28th Regime”, a single, EU-wide corporate framework intended to reduce regulatory fragmentation and strengthen Europe’s competitiveness.
The European Commission’s SME Relief Package is a response to the growing challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the EU, including excessive red tape, regulatory fragmentation, and weak cross-border scalability.
Europe’s ambition to lead in emerging technologies is being held back by a fragmented and risk-averse regulatory culture. Despite repeated promises to reduce red tape, EU institutions continue to introduce overlapping digital laws that place a heavy compliance burden on startups, reinforce incumbent advantages, and discourage innovation.
Several competitiveness rankings assess factors such as law enforcement, infrastructure, and taxation law from a business perspective. However, they often lack accessible and practical explanations of how these factors impact the daily operations of small businesses.