The events in the last few years have had significant and lasting impacts on business in general and restructuring in particular, with the latter referring to the various options available for firms experiencing difficulties. European economies, hit by both the upheavals caused by the health crisis and geopolitical tensions, have also been a

COMPETITION LAW

On 27 March 2023, the European Commission concluded that an Italian loan of EUR 400 million granted in 2019 in favour of Alitalia constituted illegal and incompatible aid that has to be reimbursed.

Alitalia has benefitted from numerous public support measures over the years. The airline found itself in a financial pickle and was declared bankrupt in May 2017. To ensure the continuity of its operations, the Italian State provided the airline with two loans, one of EUR 900 million granted in 2017 and the second of EUR 400 million in 2019.

The Belgian legislator is preparing a legal framework on insolvency law to expand the restructuring toolbox. On 26 March 2023, a draft bill was published transposing EU Directive 2019/1023 on restructuring and insolvency. The Bill should be voted before the summer holidays. Our Restructuring & Insolvency team has identified five things you need to know about the upcoming changes.

Strelia a assisté un franchiseur dans le cadre d’une procédure introduite contre une caution personnelle – gérant de société – qui souhaitait échapper à ses obligations de caution en invoquant sa faillite personnelle. Selon la Cour de cassation, un dirigeant d’entreprise ne peut cependant pas automatiquement être qualifié d’entreprise et faire aussi facilement aveu de faillite.

Strelia assisted a franchisor in an action brought against a personal surety – a company director – who attempted to escape his obligations by filing for his personal bankruptcy. However, according to the Court of Cassation, a company director cannot automatically be considered as an enterprise and therefore is not capable of filing for bankruptcy.

Strelia stond een franchisegever bij in een procedure tegen een persoonlijke borgsteller – een bedrijfsleider – die zich aan zijn verplichtingen als borg wilde onttrekken door zichzelf failliet te laten verklaren. Echter, volgens het Hof van Cassatie kan een bedrijfsleider niet automatisch als onderneming gekwalificeerd worden en dus niet zomaar zijn faillissement aanvragen.

Ongoing innovation of the Belgian insolvency law : change of the current law and a new proposal for a European bankruptcy Directive !

Insolvency law in Belgium will be subject to a lot of change, through the transposition of two consecutive directives of the European Union and the implementation of the case law of the European Court of Justice. The first changes in the law are imminent. The main tendencies of the upcoming evolution are explained in the contribution below.

The European Court of Justice’s (“ECJ”) Plessers judgment seemed to cause a serious threat for the applicability of the Belgian reorganisation procedure by transfer under judicial supervision, and the right of the interested buyer of the debtor’s activities to choose which particular employees it would take over (see hereand

La directive du 20 juin 2019 relative aux restructurations harmonise pour la première fois la législation sur l'insolvabilité au niveau européen.

Une partie importante de cette directive concerne les cadres de restructuration préventive, qui visent à limiter la liquidation inutile d'entreprises viables.

En Belgique, cela aura principalement un impact sur la réorganisation judiciaire, et plus particulièrement sur la réorganisation judiciaire par accord collectif.