Europe: update on company law and financial services reform

The Joint Brussels Office of the Law Societies of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland has published the May 2009 edition of its very useful EU financial services and company law reform update. The update notes, inter alia:

On 2 August 2008 the Commission announced a tender in respect of a study on monitoring and enforcement practices in corporate governance in the Member States. This study will describe the relationship, in the 27 Member States, between legislation and codes of corporate governance as well as obtaining an impression of companies’ perception of the codes. The study is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2009".

With regard to the Commission's proposal for the European Private Company Statute, the update notes:

On 25 March 2009 the Council’s working group on company law continued their examination of a Presidency compromise proposal, in particular as regards the organisation of the SPE, restructuring, dissolution and nullity of the SPE. On 16 April 2009 the working group further considered the compromise proposal, in particular employee participation rights and transfer of registered office of the SPE. The working group also considered a questionnaire on employees’ participation rights and the transfer of the registered office of an SPE issued by the Presidency on 6 April 2009. On 6 May 2009, the working group considered a revised Presidency compromise proposal".