The EU Court of Justice has held that the Irish State is obliged to protect the pension benefits of former employees of Waterford Crystal who were left with only 18-28% of their pension benefits when the company became insolvent.
Summary
The Court of Appeal’s judgment in The Trustees of the Olympic Airlines SA Pension & Life Insurance Scheme v Olympic Airlines SA [2013] EWCA Civ 643 has clarified what is required to fall within the definition of an ‘establishment’ for the purposes of the EC Insolvency Regulation (the Insolvency Regulation).
The “Waterford Crystal” Judgment
Introduction
The Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) delivered its judgment in Hogan & Others v. Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ireland, Attorney General [2013] CJEU Case C-398-11 on 25 April 2013.
Europe has struggled mightily during the last several years to triage a long series of critical blows to the economies of the 28 countries that comprise the European Union, as well as the collective viability of eurozone economies. Here we provide a snapshot of some recent developments regarding insolvency, restructuring, and related issues in the EU.
In December 2012 the European Commission issued a policy communication called “A new European Approach to Business Failure and Insolvency” and a proposal to amend the EU Insolvency Regulation
The proposed new European approach to business insolvency focuses on helping sound business to survive, while at the same time protecting creditors’ rights.
In In re Harley Medical Group (Ireland) Ltd [2013] IEHC 219, the High Court held that it has jurisdiction to wind-up a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, but with its principal place of business in Ireland.
Recent uncertainty in the European financial markets has led many European borrowers to look to the U.S. debt markets for liquidity. However, U.S.
EIOPA has launched a Q&A tool to ensure the consistent application of the guidelines it publishes, including those aimed at preparing for Solvency 2 implementation. (Source: EIOPA Guidelines Q&A)
In a long awaited landmark judgment, The European Court of Justice has today found in favour of ten former Waterford Crystal workers who alleged the Irish State had failed in their obligations to correctly implement European Directive 2008/94EC ('The Directive’) on the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer.
The EU Court of Justice held that Directive 2008/94/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 (“Directive 2008/94”) applies to pension benefits under a supplementary pension scheme, regardless of the cause of the employer’s insolvency, and without taking into account state pension benefits. Directive 2008/94 provides that member states must protect the pension interests of retirees when an employer becomes insolvent.