On Tuesday 24 June, the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) adopted their position on the proposal for a directive on harmonising certain aspects of pre-pack proceedings in the European Union by 19 votes to 4, with no abstentions.
In December 2022 (see EUROPE 13079/2), the European Commission issued a proposal to improve the attractiveness and predictability of cross-border investments within the internal market.
The draft report by Emil Radev (EPP, Bulgarian) supports the partial unification of rules that were previously heterogeneous, in the interests of greater legal certainty. The aim is also to facilitate the recovery of debts, guarantee a fair distribution of value between creditors, and to protect workers’ rights.
The text obliges Member States to designate a competent authority responsible for accessing registers of bank accounts that are interconnected at EU level, in order to improve the traceability of the assets of insolvent companies, even if these are located between several countries.
The report also specifies that professionals who are legally entitled to manage pre-pack proceedings will have access to national registers, regardless of the State in which they are appointed, and should enjoy the same access to the courts as their local counterparts.
Member States should put in place so-called ‘pre-pack’ processes to prepare for the sale of the business or part of its assets prior to the formal opening of pre-pack proceedings. This must be done while also respecting the rights of employees.
MEPs are also calling for company directors to be obliged to declare an insolvency scenario within three months, on pain of liability for damage caused to creditors.
Although the text does not regulate the insolvency of micro-enterprises, which account for a significant proportion of insolvency proceedings, MEPs are encouraging Member States to ensure that they have access to suitable arrangements and that they introduce simplified winding-up procedures.
In a separate vote (23 in favour, none against), the JURI Committee also approved the updating of the annexes to the Insolvency Regulation (see EUROPE 13653/18).
The EU Council adopted its general approach on 12 June (see EUROPE 13658/2). The European Parliament will vote on the report at the July plenary session in order to launch the interinstitutional negotiations. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)