COM(2010)676 - Application of Council Regulation 2157/2001 on the Statute for a European Company (SE)

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Contents

  1. Key information
  2. Key dates
  3. Related information
  4. Full version
  5. EU Monitor

1.

Key information

official title

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL The application of Council Regulation 2157/2001 of 8 October 2001 on the Statute for a European Company (SE)
 
Legal instrument Report
reference by COM-number49 COM(2010)676 EN
Additional COM-numbers SEC(2010)1391
CELEX number52 52010DC0676

2.

Key dates

Document 17-11-2010
Online publication 30-11-2010

3.

Related information

 

4.

Full version

This page is also available in a full version containing the latest state of affairs, the summary of the European Parliament Legislative Observatory, the legal context, other dossiers related to the dossier at hand, the stakeholders involved (e.g. European Commission directorates-general, European Parliament committees, Council configurations and even individual EU Commissioners and Members of the European Parliament) and finally documents of the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission.

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5.

EU Monitor

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  • 1. 
    Council Regulation (EC) No 2157/2001 of 8 October 2001 on the Statute for a European Company (SE).

     
  • 2. 
    Paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 14 and 21 of the recitals of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 3. 
    The external study of
     
  • 4. 
    However the SE Statute requires that the head office is moved together with the registered office, which reduces the advantage.

     
  • 5. 
    Trade unions report that in Germany the SE has in a few cases been created to maintain the same level of worker participation in the supervisory board, even though the threshold for a national company (either 500 or 2,000 employees) would require a change in the board's worker representation.

     
  • 6. 
    In countries that implemented the SE Directive in 2006 or later (i.e. Slovenia, Greece, Luxemburg, Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania) there are few SEs.

     
  • 7. 
    This trend is not without exceptions, notably in Slovenia (0), Hungary (3), Finland (0), Denmark (2) and Sweden (9) very few SEs were registered as of 25 June 2010, if any, although these countries have relatively extensive rules on worker participation, whereas there were several more SEs registered in the United Kingdom (23) and France (19) although these two countries have no or limited rules on worker participation.

     
  • 8. 
    However these two countries also have the highest number of operating SEs.

     
  • 9. 
    Unlike in France and Italy where, according to the respondents to the public consultation, shelf companies are not really known or used.

     
  • 10. 
    E.g. to avoid having to fulfil the cross-border requirement for each subsidiary in a group transforming into an SE.

     
  • 11. 
    Paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 14 and 21 of the recitals of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 12. 
    The alternatives are: (i) a national division and a subsequent cross-border merger, which can be carried out on the basis of the SE Regulation or Directive 2005/56/EC and
     
  • 13. 
    Moreover, none of the SEs interviewed by the contractors of the external study and none of the respondents to the consultation mentioned the limited methods of formation as a negative driver.

     
  • 14. 
    Cf. Article 69(a) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 15. 
    See cases Centros (C 212/97), Überseering (C 208/00), Inspire Art (C 167/01), SEVIC (C 411/03) and Cartesio (C 210/06).

     
  • 16. 
    The SE could register its subsidiaries in one Member State, and thus the entire group could be governed by only one company law regime, whilst having the head offices of each subsidiary located in other Member States, where they would conduct the actual business.

     
  • 17. 
    Cf. Article 69(d) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 18. 
    Cf. Article 69(d) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 19. 
    Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters.

     
  • 20. 
    Cf. Article 69(d) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 21. 
    Cf. Article 69(d) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 22. 
    Cf. Article 69(d) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 23. 
    ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies

     
  • 24. 
    The HLG was set up to advise the European Commission on the Action Programme for Reducing Administrative Burdens in the EU, see Commission Decision of 31.08.2007, C(2007)4063, Article 2.

     
  • 25. 
    Council Regulation (EC) No 2157/2001 of 8 October 2001 on the Statute for a European Company (SE).

     
  • 26. 
    Paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 14 and 21 of the recitals of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 27. 
    The external study of
     
  • 28. 
    However the SE Statute requires that the head office is moved together with the registered office, which reduces the advantage.

     
  • 29. 
    Trade unions report that in Germany the SE has in a few cases been created to maintain the same level of worker participation in the supervisory board, even though the threshold for a national company (either 500 or 2,000 employees) would require a change in the board's worker representation.

     
  • 30. 
    In countries that implemented the SE Directive in 2006 or later (i.e. Slovenia, Greece, Luxemburg, Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania) there are few SEs.

     
  • 31. 
    This trend is not without exceptions, notably in Slovenia (0), Hungary (3), Finland (0), Denmark (2) and Sweden (9) very few SEs were registered as of 25 June 2010, if any, although these countries have relatively extensive rules on worker participation, whereas there were several more SEs registered in the United Kingdom (23) and France (19) although these two countries have no or limited rules on worker participation.

     
  • 32. 
    However these two countries also have the highest number of operating SEs.

     
  • 33. 
    Unlike in France and Italy where, according to the respondents to the public consultation, shelf companies are not really known or used.

     
  • 34. 
    E.g. to avoid having to fulfil the cross-border requirement for each subsidiary in a group transforming into an SE.

     
  • 35. 
    Paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 14 and 21 of the recitals of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 36. 
    The alternatives are: (i) a national division and a subsequent cross-border merger, which can be carried out on the basis of the SE Regulation or Directive 2005/56/EC and
     
  • 37. 
    Moreover, none of the SEs interviewed by the contractors of the external study and none of the respondents to the consultation mentioned the limited methods of formation as a negative driver.

     
  • 38. 
    Cf. Article 69(a) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 39. 
    See cases Centros (C 212/97), Überseering (C 208/00), Inspire Art (C 167/01), SEVIC (C 411/03) and Cartesio (C 210/06).

     
  • 40. 
    The SE could register its subsidiaries in one Member State, and thus the entire group could be governed by only one company law regime, whilst having the head offices of each subsidiary located in other Member States, where they would conduct the actual business.

     
  • 41. 
    Cf. Article 69(d) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 42. 
    Cf. Article 69(d) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 43. 
    Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters.

     
  • 44. 
    Cf. Article 69(d) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 45. 
    Cf. Article 69(d) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 46. 
    Cf. Article 69(d) of the SE Regulation.

     
  • 47. 
    ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies

     
  • 48. 
    The HLG was set up to advise the European Commission on the Action Programme for Reducing Administrative Burdens in the EU, see Commission Decision of 31.08.2007, C(2007)4063, Article 2.

     
  • 49. 
    De Europese Commissie kent nummers toe aan officiële documenten van de Europese Unie. De Commissie maakt onderscheid in een aantal typen documenten door middel van het toekennen van verschillende nummerseries. Het onderscheid is gebaseerd op het soort document en/of de instelling van de Unie van wie het document afkomstig is.
     
  • 50. 
    De Raad van de Europese Unie kent aan wetgevingsdossiers een uniek toe. Dit nummer bestaat uit een vijfcijferig volgnummer gevolgd door een schuine streep met de laatste twee cijfers van het jaartal, bijvoorbeeld 12345/00 - een document met nummer 12345 uit het jaar 2000.
     
  • 51. 
    Het interinstitutionele nummer is een nummerreeks die binnen de Europese Unie toegekend wordt aan voorstellen voor regelgeving van de Europese Commissie.
    Binnen de Europese Unie worden nog een aantal andere nummerseries gebruikt. Iedere instelling heeft één of meerdere sets documenten met ieder een eigen nummering. Die reeksen komen niet overeen met elkaar of het interinstitutioneel nummer.
     
  • 52. 
    Deze databank van de Europese Unie biedt de mogelijkheid de actuele werkzaamheden (workflow) van de Europese instellingen (Europees Parlement, Raad, ESC, Comité van de Regio's, Europese Centrale Bank, Hof van Justitie enz.) te volgen. EURlex volgt alle voorstellen (zoals wetgevende en begrotingsdossiers) en mededelingen van de Commissie, vanaf het moment dat ze aan de Raad of het Europees Parlement worden voorgelegd.
     
  • 53. 
    Als dag van bekendmaking van een Europees besluit geldt de dag waarop het besluit in het Publicatieblad wordt bekendgemaakt, en daardoor in alle officiële talen van de Europese Unie bij het Publicatiebureau beschikbaar is.