presentation - European Corporate Governance Institute

Better Regulation and Challengesof Drafting EU Company LawPierre DelsauxBetter Regulation in EU Company Law, Process andSubstanceHelsinki, 5 October 2006Better regulation• What does it mean ?=> Making legislation:simpler,more understandable,more accessible.• What is the expected result ?greater effectivenessgreater acceptability of Community actions.12How to “better regulate” ?Better regulation Better legislationBetter regulation de-regulationFocus on two areas:new policy initiatives in Commission workprogramme subject to regulatory impactassessments; simplification of key existing legislation.34What is a Regulatory ImpactAssessment (RIA) ?One global instrument identifying the likelypositive and negative impacts of proposedpolicy actionsAn RIA will justify the chosen policy option,after having examined alternatives.Aid to decision-making – NOT a substitutefor political judgementFull transparency of results of RIAs.What to do with a RIA ?• RIA published with legislative proposals• Should the amendments to Commissionproposals be submitted to RIA ?• Dilemma: in which measure does the endresultcorrespond to the RIA of theCommission proposal ?561

Simplification – what for ?• Objective:make things easier for all stakeholders,lead to more effective legislative framework.• Review of the acquis taking into accountprivate sector and public interests.• Dilemma: simplification vs. better regulationSimplification applied to Company Law• Should the 2 nd CLD be revised ?-> feasibility study on alternative to capitalmaintenance regime• Should the 12th CLD be repealed ?-> potential danger of repealing allegedly‘redundant’ Directives for furtherenlargements.78Better regulation and Corporate Governance1. Establishment of consultative groups: European Corporate Governance Forum Advisory Group on Company Law and Corporate Governance.2. Consultation on future priorities for the Action Plan3. Systematic consultations for all initiatives=> input from stakeholders is crucial.4. Regulatory impact assessments5. Informal consultation of Member States within CLEG6. Reduction of administrative burdens.Consultation on future priorities for theAction Plan – written phaseConsultation document:• 3 Parts:the methods for policy making,the continued relevance of medium and longterm measures proposed in Action Plan,the modernisation and simplification ofEuropean Company Law.• Set of 14 detailed questions.910Global overview on responses to publicconsultation (266 responses received)Global overview on responses topublic consultationRespondents per NationalityRespondents per CategoryNumber6050403020100France (FR)Germany (DE)United Kingdom (GB)Belgium (BE)EuropeNetherlands (NL)Sweden (SE)Italy (IT)Austria (AT)Finland (FI)Denmark (DK)Greece (GR)Spain (ES)Luxembourg (LU)EU-10Ireland (IE)Portugal (PT)Third Countriesothers12%investors12%public authorities8%trade-unions academics4% 3%industry25%financial intermediaries8%foundations28%11122

Outcome of public consultation• General support for Action Plan• Overwhelming support for proposedapplication of better regulation principles• Call for enabling legislation• Support for some kind of simplification(“the devil is in the detail”).Follow-up• Summary report published in July,available athttp://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/company/docs/consultation/final_report_en.pdf• Commissioner will issue a statement in aspeech delivered to the EuropeanParliament (timing: November 2006 ?)1314Thank you for your attention !153