In a proposal on europeanownership.eu, more than 300 investors and entrepreneurs representing over 65,000 employees and around €15 billion in assets are urging EU policymakers to include Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and steward ownership in the 28^th regime, a proposed new EU company law. Without these options, more European businesses risk ending up in the hands of non-EU buyers. 

A coalition of Stiftung Verantwortungseigentum, the Sustainable Finance Lab, the Institute for Economic Democracy, N-EXTLAW and We Are Stewards today launched europeanownership.eu, urging on the Council and Parliament to integrate both ownership structures in the 28^th regime. The proposal gained broad support in the European Parliament INL-report on the 28^th regime.  

The initiators call the negotiations on the regime, also known as ‘EU Inc.’, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to give entrepreneurs, employees and communities the tools to keep businesses rooted in Europe. Around 450,000 European businesses change hands each year as their owners retire, and roughly one in three transfers fails. Without a local successor, firms increasingly go to international buyers, causing asset leaks and shrinking local economies. This unprecedented succession challenge was confirmed in a June 2026 Commission Recommendation, underwriting the need to take action. 

A call to legislators 
Armin Steuernagel, entrepreneur, investor and executive director at Stiftung Verantwortungseigentum, explains: “European economic sovereignty needs independent European companies. Founders who want to guarantee from the very start that their company’s voting rights are not up for sale need to be able to commit to that irrevocably. Steward ownership and employee ownership are proven to enable this while remaining economically robust. If the 28th regime is to support independence-driven start-ups as well as exit-driven ones, it should offer these as options.” 

ESOPs, steward ownership and the 28^th regime 
An Employee Stock Ownership Plan lets employees become owners without personal financial risk: a vehicle buys the business on their behalf and repays the loan from future profits. The UK’s John Lewis Partnership, owner of supermarket chain Waitrose, is a well-known example. 

Steward ownership, championed by companies such as Bosch and Novo Nordisk, separates control from economic rights. Voting rights are held by stewards and passed on in trust. This split between governance and financial incentive allows companies to take a long-term perspective, stay independent and make decisions geared towards its prosperity and purpose. 

The 28^th regime offers an opportunity to create a coherent, opt-in European framework that complements and reinforces national legal systems. Most Member States still lack simple and accessible legal instruments for employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and steward ownership as viable succession models. At the same time, potential buyers increasingly operate across borders, much of the available capital remains outside the EU, and national company law generally provides only fragmented, regional support.