Making #EUCompanyLaw fit for the digital age

The European Council has also identified this gap and said that company law is an area where the process of harmonizing conflict-of-law rules at EU level should continue. These already exist in areas like insolvency and contract law, but aren't yet in place for company law.

Commissioner Vera Jourová (pictured) said: "Our Internal Market offers vast opportunities to European companies and thereby is a driver for jobs and growth. But EU company law rules are not up to speed with the digital age and businesses still struggle with uncertainties in many cross-border situations. We need to provide modern and clear rules. And we need a modern approach towards administering them: Companies should be able to use digital tools at every step, from registration to filing, and when communicating with shareholders."

The consultation will inform a possible future initiative on EU company law. The initiative would aim to make the internal market simpler and fairer by allowing a greater use of digital tools, by providing clearer and legally certain EU procedures for some cross border operations and by ensuring more effective protection through safeguards and improved access to relevant information for all stakeholders concerned, in particular for creditors and employees. It would seek to fight against the abuses of social rights and possibilities of fraud.

The current EU company law is not adapted to the digital age yet nor sufficiently supportive of the development of a fully-fledged, seamless Internal Market. The Commission say that it does not allow companies to reap all the benefits of digital technologies nor provide a comprehensive framework for cross-border mobility of companies and clear rules on the jurisdiction that applies to companies in case of cross-border conflicts.

The public consultation seeks to collect views from a broad range of stakeholders, as well as from the public on three points: 1) on the use of digital tools and processes throughout a company's lifecycle, 2) on the cross-border mobility of companies (mergers, divisions, conversions) and 3) on the conflict-of-law rules for companies. The results of the consultation will feed into the company law initiative, announced by the Commission in its 2017 Work Programme.

• Online consultation questionnaire is available here.

The questionnaire is for a moment only available in English. All language versions, except for Gaelige, will be available as soon as possible. Please check the website regularly.