Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-03-Speech-1-115"
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".
Mr President, this own-initiative report on recent activities and prospects concerning company law aims to react to steps taken by the Commission, as well as to work out a strategic plan for Parliament concerning further actions in the field of company law. Significant progress has been made in implementing the 2003 Action Plan. However, further action is needed aimed at achieving the targets set out in the amended Lisbon Strategy, at committing ourselves to increasing growth and employment, at strengthening and increasing competitiveness in industry and improving conditions for entrepreneurship, and at supporting the ‘Social Europe’ project.
Finally, I would like to thank the draftsman of an opinion, Mr Lehne, whose excellent comments increased the value of this report.
The European Parliament calls on the Commission to guarantee that the steps taken to modernise company law and corporate governance are, and will be, in line with legislation in related sectors. It also emphasises the importance of taking into account the ruling of the European Court of Justice on the principle of entrepreneurial freedom.
Parliament calls on the Commission to make a decision concerning further measures aimed at developing company law, and in doing so to consider the European social model, especially the involvement of employees. Better regulation and simplification of legislation are very important in order to increase cohesion and clarity of Community legislation, especially in the field of company law. However, this should not be the only aim. First of all, we should define the areas where further initiatives are necessary at a European Union level in order to achieve the previously mentioned goals. We should investigate whether there is a need to consolidate the whole of company law in a single legal document or whether the first stage of the consolidation process should only cover certain areas.
The Commission’s decision to withdraw some draft legislation, in fields where it should already have noted the interest expressed by the companies concerned, cannot be justified by the need for better legislation. The European Parliament should be constantly involved in drawing up, defining and adopting measures aimed at simplifying legislation. The European framework for corporate governance should create the appropriate institutional conditions to support long-term viability for companies and employment prospects, define mechanisms preventing bad management and guarantee transparency and responsibility in terms of investments and revenue. We should also not forget that workers represent human capital for a company. Employees are not only important in terms of contracts, but are also investors and European Union citizens. Employees should be viewed in the same way as shareholders, as people involved in the company in the sense that they also bear a risk related to decisions made concerning the company.
The European Parliament also calls on the Commission to take greater account of the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises in future draft legislation and revisions of existing legislation and to remember that they create jobs and are a motor for economic growth.
In the field of company law, the European Parliament welcomes the proposal by the Commission concerning the Parliament and Council Directive on the exercise of voting rights by shareholders of companies having their registered office in a Member State and whose shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market. The European Parliament also welcomes agreements relating to matters including the proposal on the Parliament and Council Directive amending the Directive as regards the formation of public limited liability companies and the maintenance and alteration of their capital and the proposal relating to the Parliament and Council Directive amending the Directive on the annual accounts of certain types of companies and on consolidated financial reports.
The European Parliament should always take part in the debate on setting further priorities in the field of company law and corporate governance. This means, amongst other things, that Parliament should be regularly informed about expert group discussions. In the field of company law, Parliament expects the Commission firstly to guarantee companies a choice of different management systems, including the chance to choose between a monoist and dualist system without the need to adopt legislation defining the rights and obligations of the company’s management. Secondly, Parliament expects the Commission to analyse the opportunities for amending the principles of the European Company Statute concerning the creation of such companies, with the aim of simplifying them and adapting them to the requirements of the market. Thirdly, it expects the Commission to put forward a proposal on the European Private Company to fulfil the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The European Parliament deplores the fact that the Commission has already taken a decision to withdraw two proposals: the proposal for a regulation on the European Association Statute and the proposal for a regulation on the European Mutual Company Statute, as well as two proposals for directives complementing these statutes with respect to the participation of workers. We note, however, that in the Commission’s 2003 Action Plan, the Commission announced its intention to provide active support for the legislative process in relation to these statutes.
We call on the Commission to draw up new legislation on the European Mutual Company Statute and on the European Association Statute. The European Parliament also calls on the Commission to present, in the near future, a proposal concerning the Fourteenth Directive on the cross-border transfer of the registered offices of limited liability companies. The European Parliament expects the Commission, if appropriate, only to put forward draft legislation concerning the principle of ‘one share, one vote’ following the revision of the Parliament and Council Directive on takeover bids."@en1
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