On 22 June 2012, Almunia, Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Competition Policy gave a speech on competition policy in times of restructuring. He considered the challenges that the EU has been facing over the past weeks and months and how these challenges are shaped by the urgent need for economic restructuring and growth in Europe, the rapid globalisation of economic activity, and the fast evolving technological environment.
EIOPA has published the outcome of its November 2011 consultation on draft Guidelines for Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA). ORSA is an internal risk management tool aimed at capturing and dealing with all risks that might impact on a (re)insurance company’s solvency. ORSA processes need to be proportionate and tailored to fit the company’s structure and systems. This report by EIOPA focuses on its expectations about what ORSA should achieve rather than on how it should achieve it.
Following some delay, on June 6, 2012 the European Commission finally published its Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms (so-called Crisis Management Directive1 or CMD), which — once adopted — will apply to the 27 member states of the European Union (EU), but may also have relevance for those three contracting states of the Treaty on the European Economic Area (EEA), which are not member states of the EU.
On 17 May 2011, the GC annulled a Commission decision requiring recovery of state aid from Polish steel producer Technologie Buczek (TB). The case concerned the actions taken by the Polish authorities in implementing a plan to restructure the steel industry. The GC found that the Commission had been correct to find that TB had benefited from a decision by the Polish authorities not to apply for bankruptcy but to allow the company to continue to operate without repaying its debts.
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into plans to restructure the Royal Mail.
Facts
Extension for intermingling of assets
Issues
On April 13 2010 the Court of Cassation rendered a noteworthy decision sending two interlocutory questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). In anticipation of the ECJ's decision, this update examines the issues raised before the Court of Cassation.
Introduction
The eurozone crisis and the fallout taking place in Greece are keeping Europe on edge. An increasing number of analysts anticipate a new recession. Perhaps you, too, are wondering how the situation will affect your business, especially your international contracts. Below is a short outline of potential issues that we think are relevant. We have approached these issues from the perspective of doing business, or planning to do business, with foreign parties that run a higher than average risk of being "hit" by the current economic situation.
Potential issues
On Friday 21 October 2011, the Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York handed down an important decision, confirming that foreign (groups of) companies can use Chapter 11 without any significant threshold as to their nexus with the United States. This may be good news for corporates that seek to use Chapter 11 for restructuring their business or capital structure.
It is now clear that even very limited property in the U.S. is sufficient to qualify for a reorganisation through Chapter 11.
You are busy people. There is too much information. To try to help you identify the issues that are most important to you, we present a round-up of ten of the most significant cases and events in 2011, including Supreme Court decisions on contractual interpretation, the removal of expert witness immunity and the status of arbitrators, together with the coming into force of the Bribery Act 2010 and the new ICC Rules.
We are delighted to present the CMS guide to Restructuring, Insolvency and Distressed Debt Trading.