Brussels, 08/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - Commissioner Frits Bolkestein, responsible for internal market policy, said on Monday that he is "very disappointed to learn Germany has changed its mind at the last minute over the adoption of the draft directive on public take over bids". He recalled that this directive is among the priorities defined by the European Council of Lisbon in March 2000 to make the EU the most competitive economy in the world by 2010. "There are only nine years left, as time is running out", noted Frits Bolkestein.
The European Commission considers this proposal of directive, dating back to 1989 and transformed into a framework directive proposal in 1996, must facilitate the restructuring of companies at pan-European level. One of its fundamental principles is to make shareholders' interest take primacy, by imposing consultation, within the company targeted by a bid, of the general shareholders' assembly by its management board before the latter takes defensive measures. The aim is to prevent administrators from blocking a takeover operation for purely personal reasons.
The European Parliament, for its part, adopted a large number of amendments. A unanimous agreement was reached within Coreper on 11 April on the conciliation procedure with the Parliament, but Germany decided to block the procedure. "I sincerely hope that it will be possible to reach an agreement during the conciliation procedure with the EP before the deadline of 6 June. If this is not the case, we shall have to abandon the work of about ten years and begin all over again. At the same time, the European economy would pay the price of its inability to restructure the foundations of clear rules regarding European takeover bids. It would be a tragedy", said Mr Bolkestein. Sources close to the Commission consider that Germany is defending the interests of German employers.