On 27 July 2014, the Regulation (UE) n.º 655/2014, of the European Parliament and of the Council (the “Regulation”), establishing a European Account Preservation Order procedure to facilitate cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters was published.
Key points
- Where main proceedings have been opened in one member state, secondary proceedings may be opened in another member state where the debtor has an establishment. The effects of the secondary proceedings shall be restricted to the assets in that territory.
- Local law and court discretion may apply to the opening of secondary proceedings and may be exercised, but these should not be discriminatory.
The Facts
On 15 April 2014 the European Parliament voted in favour of the European Commission initiative for a Regulation establishing a European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) to simplify EU cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters. This legislation aims to establish a procedure whereby the courts of EU member states can issue orders preserving or “freezing” bank accounts across the EU without the need for any intervention by the courts of any other member state.
On June 6, 2014, the Council of Ministers backed the Commission’s proposal, which was adopted on December 12, 2012, concerning the intent to modernize the European rules on cross-border insolvency.
In fact, every year in the European context, more than 50 thousands companies are affected by cross – border insolvency proceedings. Specifically one in four bankruptcies in the EU have a cross-border element.
La Sentencia del Tribunal General del TJUE de 8 de abril de 2014 (asunto T-319/11), resuelve el re- curso de anulación parcial interpuesto por ABN Amro Group NV contra la Decisión 2011/823/UE, de la Comisión, que le impuso la prohibición de adquirir empresas de cualquier sector como una de las condiciones para considerar compatible con el mercado interior la ayuda pública que recibió del Estado holandés. La entidad ABN Amro había recibido ayuda pública para su recapitalización de entre 4.200 y 5.450 millones de euros, así como una ayuda de liquidez de 7.170 millones de euros.
On 9 July 2013, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new Directive on package travel and assisted travel arrangements to replace the Package Travel Directive1 (the Directive) which has been long thought to have become outdated in the face of the growth of the internet and the “dynamic packaging” industry. Following extensive consultation with industry representatives and trade bodies, an amended version of the Commission’s proposal was adopted by the European Parliament on 12 March 2014 (the Proposed Directive).
MiFID 2 package published in OJEU: The text of the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID 2) and its related Regulation (MiFIR) were published in OJEU on 12 June and will come into force on the 20th day following that of their publication. Member States have to transpose MiFID 2 by 3 July 2016 and both it and MiFIR will apply from 3 January 2017.
For the benefit of our clients and friends investing in European distressed opportunities, our European Network is sharing some current developments.
Recent Developments
We are experiencing a quiet restructuring market and relatively high corporate survival rates at a time when historical trends would suggest a period of increasing insolvency activity.
The regulatory amendments drawn up by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions following the outcome in Trustees of Olympic Airlines SA Pension &Life Assurance Scheme v Olympic Airlines SA have been drafted narrowly and may end up protecting no one other than the beneficiaries of the Olympic Airlines pension scheme.
The issue