Whilst the Belgian Council of Ministers recently approved on 25 May 2018 the draft of the new Code of companies and associations, which was submitted to the Belgian Federal Parliament on 5 June 2018, the European Commission launched on 25 April 2018, its new Company Law Package "to make it easier for companies to merge, divide or move within the Single Market".
The Belgian and the European initiatives both aim at modernizing company law rules and at attracting investment respectively at a national and European level. They are however independent initiatives.
The EU Company Law Package consists of two proposals.
The first proposal concerns the digitalization of processes in company law, enabling e.g. an incorporation without the physical presence of the founders and a fully online procedure for the registration of new companies. The proposal should also facilitate the use of digital tools for companies to manage their online information and to broaden the access to free corporate information in the public registers.
The second proposal aims at fostering cross-border mobility of companies within the EU, by providing a clear set of rules for cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions, which are recurrent restructurings in a company's life and in a changing and global environment. The objective of this proposal is also to offer company stakeholders (employees, creditors, minority shareholders) adequate protection in case of a cross-border restructuring or transformation.
With these two proposals, the European Commission intends to adapt company law to a new digital and global environment.
For further information on this topic and/or for general legal advice relating to Corporate Law, please contact Pierre de Bandt.