CEIOPS holds annual conference: CEIOPS has held its annual conference. The event included a panel session on Solvency II and discussion by Sharon Bowles of the new European Supervisory Authorities.

The Commission is consulting on the application of the current Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty. It has provided Member States and other interested parties with a questionnaire, on which it asks for responses by 2 February 2011.

The Commission is consulting on the details of a framework for dealing with failing banks. Following October's Communication on a crisis management framework, the Commission wants to make a legislative proposal on technical measures for dealing with relevant institutions in summer 2011. The consultation looks at how to give authorities across the EU powers and tools to restructure or resolve all types of institutions in crisis. It covers:

The European Commission has published a paper on its study covering pre-insolvency, early intervention, reorganisation and liquidation.

The European Commission has published a report by external consultants (Oxera), Should aid be granted to firms in difficulty, a study on counterfactual scenarios to restructuring state aid? It is intended to inform the Commission of the consequences for intended recipients and their relevant industries if aid is not given, including whether the aid will, in fact, save jobs and economic activity.

A report has been published on whether the harmonisation of the insolvency laws of EU Member States is necessary or worthwhile. The European Parliament commissioned the report, and it was produced and published by INSOL Europe, the professional association for European restructuring and insolvency specialists.

The report considers:

Yesterday, Dexia S.A., a European bank that was rescued by the French and Belgian governments in September 2008, announced that it would no longer rely on state guarantees for future funding. All debt instruments issued prior to June 30, 2010 will remain guaranteed by the government pursuant to their terms.

Does the German restructuring clause of Sec. 8c para. 1a CTA (see our Client Alert of 10 July 2009) conform to European Community law? This will be analyzed by the European Commission which has — by circular of 24 February — announced the initiation of a formal examination procedure (Art. 108 para. 2 TFEU, former Art. 88 para. 2 of the EC Treaty). Already before completion of the formal procedure, corporations with unrestricted and restricted tax liability in Germany may face farreaching consequences.

A. The Restructuring Clause of Sec. 8c para. 1a CTA

Parliament made a resolution calling on the Commission to adopt draft laws before the end of the year to help manage cross-border institutional crises. The measures should provide a common minimum set of rules, encourage convergence of national resolution and insolvency laws, and ultimately establish an EU resolution and insolvency regime. Parliament wants to see more crisis management powers to supervisory authorities, probably coordinated by the new European Banking Authority (EBA) (which takes over from CEBS).

On 28 June 2010 a motion was passed by the European Parliamentary Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs requesting that the European Parliament pass a resolution enabling the European Commission to prepare draft legislation on cross-border crisis management in the financial sector. The proposed framework would encompass amongst other things: