Brussels, 28/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - Representatives of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission are meeting on Tuesday to seek a compromise on the proposal of directive on takeover bids. We recall that the European Parliament had expressed serious reservation, last December, on the text adopted by the Council of Ministers. The buffer date for an agreement between the EP and the Council is 6 June. At the present time, 14 Member States approve the proposal, while Germany, under pressure from employers, has done an about-turn, fearing that the new regime will make its companies vulnerable. It hopes that the directive will allow the management boards of companies concerned to take defensive measures against takeover bids without prior consultation of shareholders.
At the Parliament, European CDU elected member Klaus-Heiner Lehne heads those opposing the proposal. Commissioner Frits Bolkestein, responsible for internal market policy, has increased the warnings so that the "project, which required twelve years of difficult negotiations, will not be dashed to the ground". In order to try and break the front headed by Mr Lehne, Mr Bolkestein could offer complementary assurances regarding worker consultation, which should attract the support of Socialist MEPs. One observer close to the Council, however, noted that "Mr Bolkestein's approach could be of a kind that is not to the liking of the UK, being finicky about social matters".