What changes for companies, directors and creditors?
Directive (EU) 2026/799 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 March 2026 (the Directive”) was published on 1 April 2026. It establishes a framework for the minimum harmonisation of certain substantive aspects of insolvency law in Member States. The Directive is also relevant to the European Economic Area.
April 2026 - Until last week, an investor assessing a distressed exposure in another EU member state had to navigate up to 27 different insolvency regimes, each with its own rules on look-back periods, directors' obligations, asset recovery, and creditor rights. Recovery timelines ranged from seven months to seven years.
Introduction
On 1 April 2026, the long-awaited Directive harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law (the Directive) entered into force. The Directive covers five pillars:
Introduction
On 10 March 2026, the European Parliament formally approved the long-awaited Directive harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law (the Directive) which will now be sent to the Council for final approval. The Council is expected to formally adopt the Directive by the end of this month after which it can be published in the Official Journal of the EU and enter into force. The Directive covers five pillars:
On 15 December 2025, the Dutch Council of State (CoS; in Dutch: Raad van State) issued a critical opinion on the draft bill on transfer of undertaking in bankruptcy (In Dutch: Wet overgang van onderneming in faillissement, the WOVOF).
On 12 June 2025, the Council of the EU announced that member states have agreed on a general approach to a directive aimed at bringing national insolvency standards closer together. This draft directive is designed to make the EU more attractive to foreign and cross-border investors by reducing the legal uncertainties and complexities associated with differing national insolvency laws.
On 27th March 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) delivered a ruling in the case Matthäus Metzler, acting as insolvency practitioner in insolvency proceedings vs. Auto1 European Cars BV (Case C‑186/24) concerning the interpretation of Article 31(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on insolvency proceedings (the “Insolvency Regulation”).
HFW DISPUTES DIGEST 2023
Welcome to the second annual Disputes Digest, in which we collate our 2023 global HFW LITIGATION and International Arbitration publications in one place.
This edition includes updates from across our Disputes arena, including England and Wales, BVI, AsiaPac, and the Middle East.
1. SOLVENCY II 1.1 Solvency II Directive review: ECON agrees position on Solvency II Directive review On 27 July 2023, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) published a report on its agreed position on the Proposal for a Directive amending the Solvency II Directive1 (Proposed Directive).
The Law of 7 August 2023 on businesses preservation and modernization of bankruptcy law (the “Law”) will come into force on 1st November 2023. On 19 July 2023, the Luxembourg parliament finally adopted the related draft bill, after more than a decade since the first draft bill (n° 6539) was presented.