The European Commission is seeking feedback on its "28th regime" initiative, a proposed EU legal framework intended to codify and expand European law across a wide range of matters.
The call is open until September 30th, but the feedback so far is striking.
An overwhelming 30% of all feedback comes from Germans, making them the largest interested group by a wide margin. Followed by a diverse list of organisations and individuals, with non-EU countries surprisingly forming the third-largest bloc (8%) after Italy.
This raises a crucial question that is less about the 28th regime and more about Germany itself: What is going on that drives its founders to lobby at the EU level rather than their own?
The answer is disheartening.
First, German founders complain that setting up a company in Germany is a nightmare, which it is. The country has one of the slowest and most troublesome incorporation processes, including a min capital requirement of €25,000 and a costly, time-consuming notary process. They are right to demand a simpler system, but why can't they simply change their local corporate laws? This leads to the 2nd point
Second, because changing national laws in Germany is incredibly difficult. As a federation, reforms in areas like corporate law require approval by the Bundesrat, where each state can veto or force renegotiation. This makes the process slow and painful. While their frustration is understandable, why build a whole new EU legal system instead of fixing their own? This brings us to the 3rd point
Third, because changing the system itself may not be possible. This legislative gridlock isn't a flaw; it's a fundamental feature of the design. After WWII, the Allies dismantled Germany's central authority, creating a federal system to ensure no single leader could ever again seize total control. The result is that 80 years later, Germans operate within a system they didn't fully design, one built to protect foreign interests over their own. I can only imagine how disempowering that must feel
This context explains why this EU initiative is so important to Germans and why they are lobbying so intensely for it to be a Regulation, not a Directive. Only an EU Regulation, which is directly and automatically applied as law in all member states, can bypass the veto power of Germany's 16 Länder
While I admire and support founders across Europe working together to overcome their challenges, I don't believe these problems can be solved by giving more power to an opaque EU superstructure - itself a system designed by the same post-WWII victors to protect their own interests
At EU-MONGER, we believe the only way to overcome our common challenges is a complete rethink of the systems of power we've inherited. Systems designed not by our own great-grandparents, but by someone else's
The solution to Europe's problem is not giving more power to the EU. The solution is giving more power to Europeans
Something even Otto von Bismarck would agree with
