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The EU is an intergovernmental economic union, which aims to promote free trade and achieve economic stability, and a common internal European market spanning the territory of the 28 EU member states. In terms of incorporation, every country in the EU has certain specific benefits, not to mention peculiarities in legal procedures for company formation, which may differ between jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions offer relatively quick and accessible remote company formation and maintenance, while others don’t have any black-listed jurisdictions or else may present a great opportunity to minimise taxation (sometimes even to 0%). According to statistics from the European Commerce Registers, the vast majority of companies within the EU are incorporated as standard limited liability companies (LLCs).

Benefits of establishing an EU company

The EU is currently one of the most significant and reputable trading unions on the planet. Because of common European trade standards and legislation relating to finance and commerce, EU companies have a lot to offer in terms of accessability to the western market.

Key benefits:

Friendly tax authorities

Understandable and predictable taxation system

Opportunity to incorporate and maintain your company remotely

Protection of confidentiality and nominee services

0% dividends taxation

VAT status acquisition and tax optimisation

There are other benefits of an EU-incorporated company as well:

Opportunity to make use of the European common internal market and apply tax and custom duty exemptions

Free movement of labour within the EU presents the opportunity of finding highly skilled international specialists

Application of European bookkeeping and auditing standards

Numerous tax planning solutions

Most of the EU jurisdictions are not on the offshore blacklist

The EU has a long history, ensuring a good reputation and political stability

Most common legal structures

Although every EU member state’s legislation contains different legal requirements for company formation procedures, the most common legal structures are usually the same throughout Europe.

According to statistics from the European Commerce Registers, the vast majority of companies within the EU are incorporated as standard limited liability companies (LLCs), whereby shareholders do not hold any personal financial liability for the company, except for funds invested into its paid capital as shares.

The three other most common legal structures in the EU are the joint-stock company (JS), limited partnership (LP) and limited liability partnership (LLP). While incorporating a joint-stock company usually involves a great deal of legal work, it could be the best choice if you plan on setting up a large operation involving investors and issuing company shares. On the other hand, LPs and LLPs, in certain jurisdictions, may be used to achieve a corporate structure that minimises taxation.