Package on European company law

Key points:

The EESC:

• supports the proposals that enhance the international competitiveness of SMEs, reduce cost, harmonise and simplify processes for registration, filing of company changes and conversions;
• is against loopholes enabling letter box companies to abuse legislation for fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, reduction of labour standards or social protection and increasing unfair competition;
• believes that the submission of scanned copies of passports, ID cards or power of attorney should not be acceptable and will undermine legal certainty;
• welcomes the "once-only principle", so that SMEs will avoid multiple registration and multiple official publications while at the same time national registers ensure the reliability and trustworthiness of documents and information they publish;
• stresses the importance of the cost factor for micro SMEs and SMEs, since they have neither the capacity nor the necessary instruments to cope with the digital society;
• believes that the new procedure for the transfer of company seat (cross-border conversion) will establish legal certainty through its ex-ante control in the Member State of origin and in the Member State of destination.

For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat.