Brussels, 15/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - This week, the European Commission is to adopt legislative proposals aimed at simplifying Community legislation on corporate law and accounting, as part of the “fast track” approach for “better regulation”. Four legislative acts are concerned: the 1st directive (68/151/EEC) and the 11th directive (89/666/EEC) on corporate law, and the 4th directive (78/660/EEC) and 7th directive (83/349/EEC) in the field of annual accounts and consolidated accounts.
Corporate law. The first directive should now only require certain information to be published in the official journal when such information for that member state is already available, and often in a more detailed way, in the national trade register. The 11th directive would be amended in order to reduce to a minimum the costs linked to the translation of certain documents that a company must provide and have certified in the member state where it has branches. The member state where a branch is located would be called upon to accept certified translations from the member state where the company is registered.
Accounting. The fourth directive will be amended in a way to eliminate certain demands on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to publish information. Amendment to the seventh directive aims to clarify relations between this directive and International Accounting Standards (IAS).In July 2007, the Commission adopted a communication on simplifying the legal, accounting and auditing environment for companies (EUROPE 9467). It put forward two options: limiting European legislation on corporate law to directives with a cross-border feature; target the legislator's intervention to a few concrete measures to simplify the rest of the legislative body on corporate law and accounting and auditing rules. The European Parliament, including the legal affairs committee prefer the second option and will give their opinion in May (EUROPE 9630). The European Federation of Accountants (EFA), the European Federation of Accountants and Auditors to SMEs (EFAA) and the (UEAPME) European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises warned against legislative revision that would exempt micro-enterprises (less than ten workers, balance sheet of less than €5000 000 and turnover of less than €1 million) from the 4th directive on annual accounts inspections. (M.B.)