Brussels, 30 January 2025
Today, a directive to further expand the use of digital tools and processes in EU company law comes into force. This is an important step towards strengthening competitiveness by reducing administrative burdens on EU businesses, which is expected to save businesses more than €400 million per year.
The directive will make it easier for businesses to do business cross-border by cutting red tape and offering ‘digital by default’ solutions, as well as a multilingual EU digital business certificate, which will make it easy for businesses to prove that they are legally incorporated in the EU, and an EU digital power of attorney. It will also reduce red tape for companies in cross-border situations and introduce the “once and for all” principle, eliminating the need for companies to resubmit documents already available in their national commercial register when setting up subsidiaries or branches in other Member States.
Michael McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection, said:
These new rules provide a good basis for the Commission’s commitment to create a simpler and more harmonised set of rules for businesses, in particular the upcoming 28th regime. Today, we are taking a critical step to support the many companies operating across the EU’s borders, helping to reduce burdens and introducing new digital tools to simplify bureaucratic processes.
Member States now have two and a half years to transpose the Directive into national law and an additional 12 months to ensure its full application in practice.
The Commission’s Political Guidelines for the period 2024-2029 have highlighted the commitment to making it easier and faster to do business in Europe, making speed, coherence and simplification key priorities for this mandate.
Source – EU Commission