Brussels, 09/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 7 October, the legal affairs parliamentary committee posed an oral question to the European Commission regarding the progress made analysing implementation of Regulation (EC) No. 2157/2001 on the status of the European Company. The Commission was due to present a report five years after the new rules entered into application in October 2004. It was also expected to examine whether a European Company (EC) should be allowed to locate its central statutory head office in different member states. Speaking on behalf of the Commission, the commissioner in charge of transport, Antonio Tajani, indicated that DG Internal Market had now requested an “external study” for the end of the year with a view to drawing up the said report in the second half of next year. It will therefore be up to the next Commission to develop a position on the question of locating the statutory head office of an EC in different member states. According to Mr Tajani, the anticipated delay in adopting the report on implementation is mainly down to the fact that only eight member states have respected the transposition deadlines for the 2001/86/EC directive, which completes the regulation setting up the EC in connection with European Company staff involvement. (M.B./transl.rh)