Presenting the European finance ministers with the proposed single legal framework for corporate insolvency on Tuesday 7 November, the European Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourova, received support from Germany and France on this complex dossier in connection with several aspects of national legislation.
It is estimated that 200,000 businesses go bust in the EU every year, or 600 a day, Commissioner Jourova stressed during her presentation. The text, which was presented by the Commission in November 2016 (see EUROPE 11673), sets in place a preventative framework aiming to return businesses to viability and avoid bankruptcy as soon as the possibility of insolvency emerges. This framework is also important for Banking Union, the Commissioner explained, as it will help to reduce the quantity of non-performing loans (NPL) on banks' balance sheets.
Even though it will be European justice ministers who will have to take a position on this dossier, Jourova said that the support of the finance ministers would help to move discussions forward quickly.
During the meeting, France said that it supported “active work” on this proposal and stressed its desire to conclude as quickly as possible. Germany, which is in favour of harmonising the national insolvency frameworks (see EUROPE 11826), also reiterated its support for the proposal, but stressed that there is room for improvement in certain areas. The German finance minister, Peter Altmaier, warned that the proposal does not contain enough provisions to avoid restructuring abuses, which could end up making the NPL problem even worse.
The text was discussed in June of this year by the European justice ministers (see EUROPE 11803). Over at the European Parliament, Angelika Niebler (EPP, Germany) finalised her draft report for the legal affairs committee at the end of September. Furthermore, the committee on employment and social affairs returned an opinion at the end of April stating that workers employed in the company should not be considered creditors in the same way as a bank or similar owner of capital.
According to Commissioner Jourova, there may be an agreement on the text under the Estonian Presidency. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)