Vol 20 (2023) - Issue 6

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An Assessment of the EC Proposal on Harmonisation of EU Insolvency Law

Synopsis
On 7 December 2022, the European Commission presented its Proposal for a Directive Harmonising Certain Aspects of Insolvency Law (EC Proposal).2 The Commission takes an important step forward to further harmonise substantive insolvency law. With no less than 73 articles (preceded by 63 recitals), the EC Proposal aims to strengthen financial and economic integration in the European Union (EU), to advance the Capital Market Union (CMU) by reducing divergences among Member States and promoting cross-border investment. The EC Proposal addresses seven distinct topics, which vary from avoidance actions and asset tracing to pre-pack procedures and rules to promote efficient winding-up of insolvent microenterprises. These topics touch upon many Member States’ core rules on insolvency, including the director’s duty to file for insolvency, harmonised rules on creditors’ committees, and transparent information on domestic insolvency frameworks. Should all proposed provisions be accepted as they are, many national legislations would be ploughed up, which is reason enough to pay attention to these topics. They formed the outset for a two-day international conference in Leiden (the Netherlands) on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 April 2023. The Conference on European Restructuring and Insolvency Law (CERIL) organised this event to mark its 5th anniversary as an independent and non-profit think tank. The CERIL conference was attended by around 90 participants, from some 20 European countries.