When empires feel close to collapse, they start doing strange things. Like legitimizing abuses of power or breaking their own laws in the name of “noble” goals.
The European Union’s push for a so-called 28th Regime is a prime example.
According to the European Commission, this new regime would create a single legal framework to boost the “competitiveness” of the “European economy.” In practice, it means giving a special type of company—labeled as “innovative”—a standardized set of EU-level rules covering corporate, bankruptcy, labor, and tax law. In other words, all core company laws.
By doing this, the EU is simply favoring certain companies over others. Specifically:
1. Favouring whatever they end up defining as "innovative companies" vs normal companies
2. Favouring EU companies vs non-EU companies
3. Favouring EU innovative companies that choose this regime vs the other companies that do not
Ironically, in the name of competition, the EU is proposing profoundly anti-competitive measures. In the name of European interests, it is competing against its own member states and their citizens. And in the name of prosperity, it is advancing a policy that appears to breach both its own foundational treaties and international law.
The most severe of these breaches are:
- At the EU Level it is an ultra vires action. This is, beyond its legal authority. The Treaty of Rome, and later the Lisbon Treaty, gave the European Commission powers to enforce fair competition in the single market. Its mandate is to ensure a level playing field and punish protectionist measures by member states. But no treaty gives the Union authority to create a parallel corporate legal framework in direct competition with national laws. Such a move goes beyond the EU’s competence. It is not a legitimate use of power. It is overreach without legal basis.
- At the Global Level it is a clear breach of international trade law. The EU and its members are signatories to the WTO agreements, which—like the Commission in Europe—exist to stop protectionism. An EU regulation that favors EU firms over non-EU firms, or grants special treatment to a select group, is discriminatory and a violation of the GATT. In effect, almost any country in the world would have grounds to bring a trade dispute against the EU
The strangest part is that by handing all competition powers to the EU, European citizens have lost any way to defend themselves when those powers are abused. The EU has extensive tools to punish anti-competitive behavior by companies or member states, but none to police its own actions.
Paradoxically, this leaves us only with one option: to call on other nations to challenge the EU’s unfair and discriminatory system through global trade law—defending not only their own citizens, but Europeans as well.
The history of Europe is always the same: foreign nations rescuing us from the tyranny of our own leaders.
I bet USA and China will be more than thankful for the opportunity.
