How to grow Europe’s start-ups: an EU-wide stock options system
Today, MEPs voted on a report on the “28th Regime”, an optional European corporate framework designed to help businesses—especially start-ups—scale across the EU, alongside the existing 27 national company law systems. The report sets out Parliament’s expectations ahead of the Commission’s legislative proposal in March.
Renew successfully secured an amendment calling for a harmonised EU-wide stock options regime for start-ups.
Stock options—which allow employees to buy shares at a fixed price and cash them in later when a start-up succeeds—are a key tool for attracting talent, yet fragmented national rules currently limit start-ups’ ability to scale beyond their home markets. Unlike US tech giants, European start-ups often lack the financial means to compete on salaries alone.
Pascal Canfin, our negotiator on this file, said: “Europe’s competitiveness will depend on the ability of national scale-ups to become European. Achieving critical mass is essential to compete with innovative American and Chinese companies. The 28th Regime will accelerate continental expansion and attract more investment. I am particularly pleased with the inclusion of a harmonised stock option regime—a measure I championed and a top request from Europe’s start-up ecosystem.”
“At a time of US dominance in the tech sector, it is becoming essential to create the legal environment needed to foster European tech champions of our own,” he added.
Pascal CanfinRenew Europe MEP, France, Renaissance