Vol. 532 No. 1
89 Mr. Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will give details of the European Company Statute; its implications and opportunities for Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6862/01]
Political agreement was reached by the EU Council of Ministers on 20 December 2000 on the regulation to establish a European Company Statute – ECS – and on the related directive concerning worker involvement in European companies. The objective of the ECS, which creates a legal framework for a new form of com pany, is to make it easier for companies to operate across the EU.
The European Company, known by its Latin name of "Societas Europaea", or SE, will give companies operating in more than one member state the option of being established as a single company under a community-based legal framework and so be able to operate throughout the EU with one set of rules and a unified management and reporting system rather than all the different national laws of each member state where they have subsidiaries. For companies active across the internal market the European Company therefore offers the potential of reduced administrative costs and a legal structure adapted to the internal market as a whole.
Under the European Company Statute, a European company can be set up by the creation of a holding company or a joint subsidiary or by the merger of companies located in at least two member states or by the conversion of an existing company set up under national law. The statute also regulates matters such as minimum capital, management structures and general meetings, but in other areas such as accounting, auditing and winding up defers to the national law applicable to public limited companies, subject to appropriate modifications.
A separate directive deals with employee involvement and its transposition into national law will govern this aspect for European companies registered in this jurisdiction.
The hope is that the SE will be attractive for companies seeking an efficient structure to operate on a pan-European basis and that it will enable companies to expand and restructure their cross-border operations without the costly and time consuming red tape of having to set up a network of subsidiaries. It is therefore seen as a step forward in efforts to make the Internal Market a practical reality for business, to encourage more companies to exploit cross-border opportunities and so to boost Europe's competitiveness.
Following the political accord reached by Council, the European Parliament will be consulted on the two amended texts.
