Procedure lapsed or withdrawn
| Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion | ECON | SCHINAS Margaritis (PPE-DE) | |
| Lead | JURI | KAUPPI Piia-Noora (PPE-DE) |
Legal Basis Treaty on European Union TEU 050-p2, TFEU 050-p2-ag
Activites
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2012/04/26
Proposal withdrawn by Commission
- DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/internal_market/', 'title': 'Internal Market and Services'}, BARNIER Michel
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2008/11/19
Results of vote in Parliament
- Results of vote in Parliament
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T6-0547/2008
summary
The European Parliament adopted, by 571 votes to 35 with 10 abstentions, a legislative resolution, amending the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directives 68/151/EEC and 89/666/EEC as regards publication and translation obligations of certain types of companies. The report had been tabled for consideration in plenary by Piia-Noora KAUPPI (EPP-ED, FI), on behalf of the Committee on Legal Affairs. Parliament supported the Commission's proposal and made certain amendments to clarify the practical implementation of provisions on the costs of publication and translation.The main amendments – adopted in 1st reading of the codecision procedure – are as follows:- in order to allow for a cost effective publication that provides users with easy access to the information Member States should make mandatory the use of a central electronic platform. Parliament stated that this platform should either contain all the information that is required to be disclosed or give access to this information in the company's electronic file in the Member States' registers. Member States should, furthermore, ensure that any costs charged to companies for such publication are included in a single fee, together with those, if any, that are charged for entries in the register. - any existing publication obligations in Member States should not lead to any additional specific fees. This should not, however, prejudice the freedom of Member States to pass on to companies the costs connected with the setting-up and operation of the platform, including the formatting of documents, either by including those costs in registration fees or by demanding a mandatory periodical contribution from companies ;- in line with the principle of subsidiarity, Member States may continue all other existing forms of publication, provided that they are well defined and based on objective conditions, particularly in the interests of legal certainty and information security and having regard to the availability of access to the Internet and national practices. Member States should cover the costs of such complementary publication obligations within the single fee.- where a Member State requires certification, the translation shall be certified by a person so qualified in any Member State ; - lastly, Members adopted a technical amendment in order to ensure a correct cross-referencing with the Second Company Law Directive (77/91/EEC).
- 2008/11/18 Debate in Parliament
- 2008/10/31 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
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2008/10/07
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
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2008/05/20
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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2008/04/17
Legislative proposal published
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COM(2008)0194
summary
PURPOSE: to amend Council Directives 68/151/EEC and 89/666/EEC as regards publication and translation obligations of certain types of companies.PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.BACKGROUND: the European Council agreed, at its meeting on 8 and 9 March 2007, that administrative burdens on companies should be reduced by 25% by the year 2012 in order to enhance the competitiveness of companies in the Community. Company law has been identified as one area that contains a high number of information obligations for companies, some of which seem outdated or excessive. These information obligations need to be reviewed in order to reduce the burdens weighing on companies within the Community to the minimum that is necessary to ensure the protection of the interests of other stakeholders. Under the First Company law Directive 68/151/EEC of 9 March 1968, companies need to publish, in the national gazettes, certain information that has to be entered into the Member States' commercial registers. This is, in particular, information about the company's foundation, later changes to this information and the annual accounts that have to be published on a yearly basis. In most cases, the publication in the national gazette entails additional costs for the companies without providing real added value in times where company registries make their information available online. The objective is therefore to remove any additional publication requirements in national law that cause additional costs to the companies.Under Eleventh Company Law Directive 89/666/EEC of 21 December 1989, the proposal targets the translation requirements, in national law, for documents to be filed to the branch's register. When registering a branch, companies need to file certain information contained in their file also with the register of the branch. This often leads to a double cost for companies as they not only have to ensure the translation of certain documents into the language of the Member State where the branch is situated but also have to comply with sometimes excessive requirements for certification and/or notarisation of that translation. The objective is to reduce the costs for translation and certification to the minimum. CONTENT: the proposed measures constitute a second series of actions and an overall programme aimed at reducing the administrative burdens on companies from 25% by the year 2010 (see also COD/2008/0084): Amendment of the First Company law Directive: it sets a new minimum publication requirement on the basis of the alternative means of publication contained currently in Article 3(4) First Company law Directive. This minimum requirement takes account of the fact that the use of electronic means is becoming more and more common in all areas. The fact that the provision sets only a minimum requirement means that Member States have to provide for an electronic chronological access to the information but remain free to prescribe, in addition, the use of the additional means of publication (e.g. paper based national gazette, national or regional newspapers). However, the new second subparagraph of Article 3(4) clarifies that Member States have to make sure that the publication in any case does not lead to any specific fees being charged to the companies.Amendment of the Eleventh Company law Directive: it maintains the current possibility, for Member States, to require the translation and certification of that translation with a view to certain documents concerning the company. It clarified that also the attestation pursuant to Article 2(2)(c) can be required in the language of the host Member State of the branch which in practice is already done by most Member States today. The second sentence then stipulates, however, that any such requirement shall be deemed fulfilled where a translation is submitted that has been certified by a person that, under the rules on certification in force in another Member State , is entitled to issue such a certificate. The attestations that have been issued in the language required by the Member State of the branch have to be accepted by the register in that state. The proposal also clarifies that Member States, apart from the formalities described above cannot impose any other formal requirements. This provision covers in particular any requirements for notarisation of already certified documents or their legalisation, for instance by an Apostille under Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. It is, however, without prejudice to any rules requiring Apostille for the attestation on the existence of the company.
- DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/internal_market/', 'title': 'Internal Market and Services'}, BARNIER Michel
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COM(2008)0194
summary
Documents
- Legislative proposal published: COM(2008)0194
- Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A6-0400/2008
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T6-0547/2008
| Amendments | Dossier |
| 23 |
2008/0083(COD)
2008/09/18
ECON
12 amendments...
Amendment 10 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 Member states shall ensure that companies are not charged a specific fee in respect of the publication obligation through a central electronic platform
Amendment 11 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 a (new) This paragraph is without prejudice to the freedom of Member States to pass on to companies publication-related costs including those connected with the setting up and operation of the central electronic platform.
Amendment 12 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 a (new) This paragraph is without prejudice to the freedom of Member States to pass on to companies costs including those connected with the setting up and operation of the central electronic platform.
Amendment 13 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 a (new) In line with the principle of subsidiarity, this paragraph shall not prejudice the Member States from continuing other forms of publication obligations, particularly in the interests of legal certainty and information security and with regard to national requirements and practices.
Amendment 14 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 b (new) This paragraph shall also not prejudice Member States from passing on to companies the costs of setting up and operating the central electronic platform or of any continued additional publication obligations in a single fee.
Amendment 15 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 2 Directive 89/666/EEC Article 4 – paragraph 1 1. The Member State in which the branch has been opened may stipulate that the documents referred to in points (b) and (c) of Article 2(2) and in Article 3 must be published in an official language of the Community other than the official language of the register referred to in point (c) of Article 2(1), and that the translation of such documents must be
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 3 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 a (new) 2a. Member States conducting programmes promoting public access to digital information may, on a transitional basis, maintain any current additional obligations regarding publication in the national or regional press until 2012.
Amendment 5 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Recital 6 (6) In order to allow for a cost effective publication that provides users with easy access to the information Member States should make mandatory the use of a central electronic platform. They may, in keeping with their national practices and obligations, also provide for publication by other means. They should, furthermore, ensure that this publication and any additional publication duties they may impose on companies in this context, do not lead to any specific fees
Amendment 6 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Recital 6 a (new) (6a) In line with the principle of subsidiarity, Member States should be able to continue other forms of publication obligations, particularly in the interests of legal certainty and information security and with regard to national requirements and practices. Member States can cover the costs of such publication obligations by a single fee.
Amendment 7 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 4. Disclosure of the documents and particulars referred to in Article 2 shall be effected by publication through a central electronic platform that allows access to the company information disclosed in chronological and thematic order.
Amendment 8 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 4. Disclosure of the documents and particulars referred to in Article 2 shall be effected by publication through a central electronic platform that allows access to the information disclosed in chronological
Amendment 9 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 - subparagraph 2 Member states shall ensure that companies are not charged
source: PE-412.255
2008/09/22
JURI
11 amendments...
Amendment 10 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Recital 6 (6) In order to allow for a cost effective publication that provides users with easy access to the information Member States should make mandatory the use of a central electronic platform.
Amendment 11 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Recital 6 (6) In order to allow for a cost effective publication that provides users with easy access to the information Member States should make mandatory the use of a central electronic platform. They may, in keeping with their national practices and obligations, also provide for publication by other means. They should, furthermore, ensure that this publication and any additional publication duties they may impose on companies in this context, do not lead to any specific fees
Amendment 12 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Recital 6 a (new) (6a) In line with the principle of subsidiarity, Member States should be free to decide whether to continue to prescribe obligations in respect of other forms of publication, particularly in the interests of legal certainty and information security and having regard to national requirements and usages. Member States should be able to cover the costs of this by the single fee.
Amendment 13 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 4. Disclosure of the documents and particulars referred to in Article 2 shall be effected by publication through a central electronic platform that allows access to
Amendment 14 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 4. Disclosure of the documents and particulars referred to in Article 2 shall be effected by publication through a central electronic platform that allows access to
Amendment 15 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 Member States shall ensure that companies are not charged a specific fee in respect of
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 Member states shall ensure that companies are not charged
Amendment 17 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 Member States shall ensure that companies are not charged a specific fee in respect of the publication obligation through a central electronic platform
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 a (new) In line with the principle of subsidiarity, the foregoing shall not prejudice the right of Member States to continue to prescribe other forms of publication, particularly in the interests of legal certainty and information security and having regard to national requirements and usages. This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the freedom of Member States to pass on to companies the costs of setting up and operating the central electronic platform or any continued additional publication obligation in a single fee.
Amendment 19 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Article 1 Directive 68/151/EEC Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 a (new) This paragraph is without prejudice to the freedom of Member States to pass on to companies publication-related costs, including those connected with the setting up and operation of the central electronic platform.
Amendment 9 #
Proposal for a directive – amending act Recital 5 (5) In most cases, the publication obligations entail additional costs for the companies without providing real added value given that company registers make their information available online. Initiatives - such as the future European e-Justice portal - aimed at facilitating the Community wide access to such registers further reduce the need for publishing this information in a national gazette or in other print media.
source: PE-412.291
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