Representatives of the European Parliament and the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU failed on Tuesday 5 March to reach agreement on the proposal for a Directive laying down harmonised procedures for cross-border divisions and transfers and a targeted review for mergers (see EUROPE 12009), contained in the company law package.
Two major issues remained open, namely how to tackle 'artificial arrangements' and the protection of workers' rights in cross-border operations (see EUROPE 12197).
During the 'trilogue', which lasted several hours, the EU Council reportedly “took a step” towards Parliament's position on the 'anti-abuse clause', according to a parliamentary source.
As a reminder, while the European Parliament wishes a clear and secure procedure set at EU level with a thorough assessment by the competent authority of the Member State of departure in case of serious doubts as to whether cross-border processing constitutes an artificial arrangement, in its text the Council of the EU has only made it a possibility and not an obligation (see EUROPE 12183).
But, according to two sources, there were no other significant breakthroughs in the negotiations. The co-legislators have yet to reach a consensus on the protection of workers' information and consultation rights and on the maintenance of participation rights in the Management Board. A new 'trilogue' was scheduled for the evening of 11 March. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)