The European Commission Internal Market and Services DG has sent to the CEBS and CEIOPS Interim Working Committee on Financial Conglomerates a third call for technical advice on the Financial Conglomerates Directive.
View Call for technical advice on financial conglomerates, (PDF 554KB), 7 May 2008
On 21 October 2008, after a year-long investigation, the European Commission (Commission) approved a restructuring plan designed to restore the viability of the French household firm FagorBrandt. The firm produces a range of large household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and stoves. The proposed restructuring plans will include the sale of certain activities and plant closures and a refocus on high added value products.
The European Commission has approved the plan by the Italian authorities to sell the assets of the airline Alitalia, which had entered into financial difficulties, under a special insolvency procedure. The Commission concluded that the sale of the assets would not constitute a subsidy prohibited under EU State aid rules provided the assets are sold at market value and other conditions have been satisfied. An independent trustee has been appointed to oversee the sale by the administrator assigned under the special insolvency procedure.
On November 1 2007 the State Commission for Insolvency presented the Preliminary Bill for an Insolvency Act to the minister of justice. The bill contains rules for the recognition of insolvency proceedings in non-EU countries and the law applicable to foreign proceedings. This update examines those rules and their relationship to the EU Insolvency Regulation and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency.
Case Law
Last week, the European Commission (EC) announced that it has decided to further review Dexia’s restructuring plan under EC Treaty state aid rules to “establish whether the restructuring plan for the Dexia group will restore the group's long-term viability.” The plan includes a €6.4 billion capital injection, announced in
The German Government is required by the European Commission ("Commission") to seek repayment of €5.2 million in aid from the bicycle group, Biria. The aid comprised two guarantees and “silent participation” (investor received remuneration but no shares) by a public investment company and the German Land of Saxony to subsidiaries within the Biria group. Although Germany argued that the “silent participation” was provided upon market conditions, the Commission did not accept that it met the private market investor test.
The European Commission has published on its website an on-line questionnaire which aims to get opinions from all interested parties on the impact of Solvency II when compared to Solvency I. The closing date for completing the questionnaire is 23 March 2007.
What and where is a company's ‘centre of main interest’ – its COMI – and why should you care? This is not an esoteric question but a live issue in determining which nation's courts and laws deal with international insolvency issues including administration and liquidation.
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation under EU State aid rules into financial aid totalling EUR 40.7 million that Italy intends to grant to Legler S.p.A., a denim textile producer. For several years Legler has had financial problems and is currently undergoing restructuring. To help with the restructuring, Italy proposes to grant loans of EUR 26.2 million, and to convert debts of EUR 14.5 million into capital.
Hogan Lovells Publications | 07 April 2020
Introduction of financial measures in support of businesses facing the Covid-19 crisis
Faced with the impact of the Covid-19 health crisis on the local and European economy, the President of the French Republic and the government announced several emergency measures in order to support businesses in difficulty.