ENEFI Energiahatékonysági Nyrt v Directia Generala Regionala a Finantelor Publice Brasov (DGRFP) [2016] All ER (D) 110 (Nov)

The Court of Justice of the European Union ("ECJ") has handed down a notable judgment in the case of ENEFI Energiahatékonysági Nyrt v Directia Generala Regionala a Finantelor Publice Brasov (DGRFP) [2016] All ER (D) 110 (Nov), ruling that domestic laws governing forfeiture of a claim in insolvency proceedings apply to foreign creditors too.

In December 2013, the Bank of Slovenia adopted exceptional measures resulting in the annulment of financial instruments held by shareholders and subordinated bondholders for the purpose of burden-sharing in rescuing five Slovenian banks.1 In its decision of 19 July 2016, the European Court of Justice confirmed that such burden-sharing is not contrary to EU law; however, the Slovenian public remains divided.

ECJ decides that rights in rem should be interpreted in accordance with German law, despite insolvency proceedings having been opened in France

In the recent case of SCI Senior Home (in Administration) v Gemeinde Wedemark, Hannoversche Volksbank eG, the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down judgment on the question of whether a right in rem created under national law should be considered a "right in rem" for the purposes of Article 5 of the Council Regulation (EC) 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings (the "Insolvency Regulation").

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has given a preliminary ruling on when a security holder has "possession or…control" of financial collateral for the purposes of Directive 2002/47 on financial collateral arrangements. From an English law perspective, this is particularly relevant for anyone considering whether a floating charge over financial collateral qualifies as a security financial collateral arrangement (or SFCA).

Background – UK implementation and interpretation

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has just made a pronouncement on three of the most important matters open to interpretation concerning the regime applicable to financial collateral arrangements under Directive 47/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 June 2002.

The European Union Court of Justice states that pledges over bank accounts are not resistant to insolvency procedures if the account holder can dispose of the monies deposited in the account

The European Union Court of Justice ("EUCJ") has issued a judgment dated 10 November 2016 in the Matter No C-156/15 (Private Equity Insurance Group ("SIA") v Swedbank AS) in response to a request for a preliminary ruling from the Supreme Court of Latvia, the country in which the bank Swedbank AS is based.

On 26 October 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union has rendered a decision (case C-195/15) on the interpretation of “rights in rem” under article 5 of the Insolvency Regulation (

The Court of Appeal has ordered a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) in Grenville Holden Hampshire v the Board of the Pension Protection Fund which involves a pension scheme member, whose early retirement pension was reduced by two-thirds on the scheme's entry to the PPF, arguing that the statutory cap on compensation payable by the PPF does not give full effect to Article 8 of the EU Insolvency Directive.

Earlier this year it was announced that the UK’s Financial Assistance Scheme (“FAS”) would close to applications from 1 September 2016.

This does not affect pension plans that are currently progressing through the notification and qualification process or pension plans that have already qualified for assistance. However, any qualifying pension plans that have not yet started the process need to move quickly as they now have less than a month to make a notification to the FAS.

In the recent case of Greece v Stroumpoulis on 25 February 2016, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that EU protections under the Insolvency Directive apply to EU residents working in the EU, regardless of whether their employer is an EU company. The ECJ reached this decision based on the social objective of the Insolvency Directive, irrespective of the maritime waters on which the vessel sailed.