11 Oct 2004

Le statut de la société européene es entré en vigueur

Le statut de la société européenne peut en principe être utilisé à partir du 8 octobre 2004, c’est-à-dire plus de trente après qu’il a été proposé pour la première fois par la Commission. Une directive connexe concernant la participation des travailleurs des sociétés européennes est entrée en vigueur simultanément. Toutefois, seuls six des vingt-huit États membres de l’UE et de l’EEE ont adopté les réglementations nationales nécessaires pour permettre la constitution de sociétés européennes sur leur territoire. Jusqu’à ce que les autres aient fait de même, de nombreuses sociétés opérant dans plus d’un État membre n’auront pas la possibilité de se constituer en société de droit communautaire et d'évoluer comme un opérateur unique dans toute l’UE en appliquant un jeu unique de règles, une direction unique et des règles publicité uniques.

M. Frits Bolkestein, commissaire chargé du marché intérieur, a déclaré ce qui suit: "Le statut de la société européenne permettra à ces entreprises de développer et de restructurer leurs activités transfrontalières sans passer par les formalités administratives interminables et coûteuses qu'implique l'établissement d'un réseau de filiales. Non seulement cela va encourager les sociétés à utiliser cette structure efficace pour leurs opérations à l'échelle européenne, mais la réduction des coûts devrait en fin de compte entraîner une pression à la baisse sur les prix et améliorer la compétitivité européenne dans son ensemble. Mais ce sont des promesses en l’air si les États membres ne tiennent pas leurs engagements et ne mettent pas en place le cadre nécessaire pour permettre la constitution de sociétés européennes. En attendant, ils brident leurs propres entreprises et l’économie européenne. C’est inacceptable."

Seuls l’Autriche, la Belgique, la Finlande, le Danemark, l’Islande et la Suède ont jusqu’à présent pris les mesures nécessaires pour permettre la constitution de sociétés européennes sur leur territoire, alors que le statut de la société européenne a été adopté au niveau de l’UE en 2001 (voir IP/01/1376 ).

En vertu de ce statut, une société européenne peut être constituée par la création d'un holding ou d'une filiale commune, par la fusion de sociétés situées dans au moins deux États membres ou par la transformation d'une société existante constituée conformément au droit interne d'un État membre.

La directive connexe concernant la participation des travailleurs prévoit que la création d'une société européenne implique une négociation sur la participation des salariés avec un organe unique représentant tous les salariés des sociétés concernées.

S'il s'avère impossible d'aboutir à un arrangement satisfaisant pour les deux parties, un jeu de principes standard s'applique, dont la nature exacte dépend de la forme de la participation des travailleurs dans les sociétés avant la constitution de la société européenne.

Le texte intégral du règlement sur le statut de la société européenne et de la directive connexe sur la participation des travailleurs est disponible à l’adresse suivante:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/fr/company/company/official/index.htm

10 Oct 2004

European Company Statute in force

The European Company Statute in theory became available for use on 8 October 2004, over thirty years after it was first proposed by the Commission. A related Directive concerning worker involvement in European Companies entered into force at the same time. However, only six of the 28 EU and EEA Member States have implemented the regulations at national level necessary to allow European Companies to be set up on their territory. Until the rest do so, many companies operating in more than one Member State will be denied the option of being established as a single company under Community law and thus of being able to operate throughout the EU with one set of rules and a unified management and reporting system.

Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said: "The European Company Statute makes it easier and cheaper for companies to expand and to manage cross-border operations without the red tape of having to set up a network of subsidiaries. Not only will that encourage more companies to exploit cross-border opportunities, the reduced costs should ultimately lead to downward pressure on prices and boost Europe's overall competitiveness. But this is pie in the sky unless Member States live up to their commitments and put the framework in place to allow European companies to be set up. Until they do that, they are holding their own businesses and the European economy back. That is unacceptable."

Only Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland have so far taken the necessary measures to allow European Companies to be founded on their territory, despite the fact that the European Company Statute was adopted at EU level in 2001 (see IP/01/1376 ).

Under the European Company Statute, a European Company can be set up by the creation of a holding company or a joint subsidiary or by the merger of companies located in at least two Member States or by the conversion of an existing company set up under national law.
Under the accompanying Directive on employee involvement, the creation of a European Company requires negotiations on the involvement of employees with a body representing all employees of the companies concerned. If it proves impossible to negotiate a mutually-satisfactory arrangement then a set of standard principles applies, the exact nature of which depends on the format for worker participation in the companies concerned before the European Company was set up.

For the full texts of the Regulation on the European Company Statute and of the accompanying Directive on employee involvement, see:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/company/company/official/index.htm

This Blog/Web Site ("Blog") does not to provide specific legal advice, it is for educational purposes only. This Blog is made available by the international adviser, lawyer or law firm for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice.

The Blog does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state. Any comment posted on the Blog can be read by any Blog visitor; do not post confidential or sensitive information. Any links from another site to the Blog are beyond the control of us.

By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Blog.

The Blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional adviser or lawyer in your country.

Our firm and do not convey their approval, support or any relationship to any site or organization. The use of this Blog does not implicitly or explicitly convey any warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the information contained herein.

This Blog has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for this Blog.

This Blog takes your privacy very seriously. Our customers told us they want to see clear, easy-to-read information about our privacy commitments and policies. We have made our privacy policies easier to find and easier to read. And we're listening. We welcome your questions and feedback on our privacy policies, and invite you to contact us with your thoughts.

Customer Privacy Controls and Choices:
• You can review and correct your Personal Information collected by us.
• You can limit certain types of solicitation communications from AT&T, including marketing contacts made via telephone, e-mail and text messaging.
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Our privacy commitments are fundamental to the way we do business every day. These apply to everyone who has a relationship with this Blog and visitors.
• We will protect your privacy and keep your personal information safe. We use powerful encryption and other security safeguards to protect customer data, when available.
• We will not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose. Period.
• We will fully disclose our privacy policies in plain language, and make our policies easily accessible to you.
• We will notify you of any revisions to our privacy policy, in advance. No surprises.
• You have choices about how this Blog uses your information for marketing purposes. Customers are in control.


This Privacy Policy identifies and describes the way This Blog uses and protects the information we collect about visitors. All use of this Blog is subject to this Privacy Policy.

Use of Location Information
• When your wireless device is on, it sends periodic signals to the nearest cell site. We use that information to provide your wireless services;
• You can use your wireless device to obtain a wide array of services based on the approximate location of the device, referred to as Location Based Services, or LBS. The information you receive in connection with your use of LBS may include advertisements related to your request and your location;

Online Activity Tracking and Advertising
• We collect information about your activity on this Blog for a number of purposes using technologies such as cookies, Web beacons, widgets and server log files.
• We and our advertising partners use that information, as well as other information they have or we may have, to help tailor the ads you see on our sites and to help make decisions about ads you see on other sites.

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We collect different types of personal and other information based on your use of our products and services and our business relationship with you. Some examples include:
• Contact Information that allows us to communicate with you -- including your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
• Equipment, Performance, Site Usage, Viewing and other Technical Information about your use of our network, services, products or Web sites.

We collect information in 2 primary ways:
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• We collect it automatically when you visit our Blog.

We use the information we collect in a variety of ways, including to:
• Provide you with the best visitor experience possible;
• Deliver customized content that may be of interest to you;
• Address network integrity and security issues;
• Investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, violations of our Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policies; and
• For local directory and directory assistance purposes.

Aggregate or Anonymous Information:

We may share aggregate or anonymous information in various formats with trusted entities’ only for purposes such as:
• Our knowledge, and offer of information that may be of interest to you;
• Universities, laboratories and other entities that conduct scientific research; and
• Media research companies for general information only.

2 Oct 2004

La CE lance une stratégie de prévention des pratiques irrégulieres des sociétés

La Commission européenne a adopté une stratégie visant, par une action coordonnée en ce qui concerne les services financiers, le droit des sociétés, la comptabilité, la fiscalité ainsi que la surveillance et l’application effective des règles, à réduire les risques de malversations financières. Dans sa communication, elle recommande à la fois une mise en oeuvre efficace et diligente du plan d'action pour les services financiers (voir IP/04/696) et du plan d’action pour la modernisation du droit des sociétés et le renforcement du gouvernement d'entreprise (voir IP/03/716) ‑ qui fournissent un cadre communautaire propre à résoudre la plupart des problèmes financiers soulevés par les «affaires» récentes ‑ et un contrôle rigoureux de l'application de la législation. Elle prône en outre de nouvelles initiatives en matière de fiscalité et d’application de la loi, qui portent principalement sur l’augmentation de la transparence, l’amélioration de la traçabilité et une meilleure coordination du travail de maintien de l’ordre.

«L’affaire Parmalat a montré la manière dont certaines sociétés recouraient à des structures complexes et opaques afin de rendre leurs activités moins transparentes pour les investisseurs» a déclaré Frits Bolkestein, membre de la Commission chargé du marché intérieur et de la fiscalité. «Le risque que se produisent de tels scandales financiers doit être limité autant que possible. Un durcissement des politiques s’impose dans certains domaines. Les scandales sont préjudiciables aux marchés financiers; la confiance recule, les investisseurs sont découragés, le coût des capitaux risque d’augmenter. Il faut s’attaquer à ce problème de manière énergique afin de se débarrasser rapidement des escrocs et de faire place nette avant qu’ils ne nuisent.»

La communication de la Commission propose une stratégie de grande ampleur qui englobe les services financiers, la justice et les affaires intérieures ainsi que la politique fiscale et qui a pour objectif de renforcer les quatre lignes de défense existantes contre les pratiques en question, à savoir le contrôle interne de l’entreprise (principalement par l’intermédiaire des administrateurs), l’audit indépendant, la surveillance et le contrôle public, et le maintien de l’ordre.

Le plan d’action pour les services financiers et celui pour la modernisation du droit des sociétés et le renforcement du gouvernement d'entreprise fournissent déjà un cadre communautaire efficace pour résoudre les problèmes financiers soulevés par les affaires récentes. Il faut cependant veiller à ce que ces dispositifs soient mis en oeuvre en temps voulu et assurer un contrôle strict et un suivi effectif de l'application de la législation.

La transparence des structures financières ad hoc (special purpose vehicles – SPV) doit être améliorée dans les bilans et une réflexion doit être entamée maintenant sur la question de savoir si le marché obligataire est suffisamment transparent.

En matière de fiscalité, la Commission préconise là encore plus de transparence et un renforcement de l’échange d’informations dans le domaine de l’impôt des sociétés afin que les autorités fiscales soient mieux armées face aux structures d’entreprise complexes. Les questions qui seront examinées incluent d’éventuelles améliorations de la directive sur l’assistance mutuelle (77/799/CEE), l'élaboration de définitions communes de l'évasion et de la fraude fiscales, l’échange d’expériences et de bonnes pratiques entre administrations fiscales, l'utilisation des nouvelles technologies pour améliorer l’échange d’informations et, à plus long terme, l’examen, avec les États membres, de la possibilité d’instaurer un numéro d’identification commun pour les sociétés aux fins de l'impôt. La Commission souhaite en outre renforcer la cohérence des politiques de l’Union relatives aux centres financiers offshore, afin d’encourager ces juridictions à évoluer elles aussi vers plus de transparence et un réel échange d'informations.
Quant aux activités de maintien de l'ordre, la Commission entend mettre au point un instrument concernant l'obstruction à la justice, une politique communautaire sur la responsabilité des sociétés qui prévoie des sanctions efficaces, proportionnées et dissuasives en cas d’infraction à la législation en vigueur ainsi qu’un instrument sur le partage d'avoirs et la restitution des biens confisqués.

Le texte complet de la communication est disponible à l’adresse suivante:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/fr/company/financialcrime/index.htm

1 Oct 2004

EU strategy to prevent financial and corporate malpractice

The European Commission has adopted a strategy for co-ordinated action in the financial services, company law, accounting, tax, supervision and enforcement areas, to reduce the risk of financial malpractice. The Commission’s Communication recommends timely and effective implementation of the Financial Services Action Plan (see IP/04/696) and the Action Plan for Company Law and Corporate Governance (see IP/03/716) which provide an effective EU framework for dealing with most of the financial issues raised by the recent scandals, as well as strict control of the application of legislation. The Commission suggests new policy initiatives in tax and law enforcement. The key elements are: enhanced transparency, improved traceability and better co-ordinated enforcement.

"The Parmalat affair showed how some companies use complex and opaque structures to reduce the transparency of their activities to investors" said Frits Bolkestein, Internal Market and Taxation Commissioner. "The risk of such financial scandals must be reduced. Policy needs tightening up in certain areas. Scandals damage financial markets. Confidence declines. Investors are put off. The cost of capital could rise. These issues must be tackled with rigour to flush the crooks out and deal with them early, before they do damage. "
The Communication proposes a broad strategy, covering financial services, justice and home affairs and tax policy. The objective is to reinforce the four lines of defence against such practices: internal control in the company, mainly through board members; independent audit; supervision and oversight; and law enforcement.

The Financial Services Action Plan and the Action Plan for Company Law and Corporate Governance already provide an effective EU framework to deal with the financial services issues raised by the recent scandals. But there is a need for timely implementation of these Plans and for strict oversight and effective control of the application of legislation. More transparency is needed about special purpose vehicles in balance sheets and reflection should begin now on whether the bond market is sufficiently transparent.

In the tax field, the Commission suggests more transparency and information exchange in the company tax area so that tax systems are better able to deal with complex corporate structures. Issues that will be examined include possible improvements to the Mutual Assistance Directive (77/799/EEC), developing common definitions of tax fraud and avoidance, exchanges of experience and best practice between tax administrations, the use of new technology to improve information exchange, and, in the longer term, examining with Member States the use of a common company identification number for company tax purposes.

The Commission also wishes to ensure coherent EU policies concerning offshore financial centres, to encourage these jurisdictions also to move towards transparency and effective exchange of information.

With regard to law enforcement activity, the Commission wishes to develop an EU instrument to tackle obstruction of justice, a Community policy on corporate liability involving effective, proportionate and dissuasive fines for failure to comply with existing legislation and an EU instrument on asset sharing and restitution of confiscated proceeds.

The full text of the Communication is available at: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/company/financialcrime/index.htm

This Blog/Web Site ("Blog") does not to provide specific legal advice, it is for educational purposes only. This Blog is made available by the international adviser, lawyer or law firm for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice.

The Blog does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state. Any comment posted on the Blog can be read by any Blog visitor; do not post confidential or sensitive information. Any links from another site to the Blog are beyond the control of us.

By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Blog.

The Blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional adviser or lawyer in your country.

Our firm and do not convey their approval, support or any relationship to any site or organization. The use of this Blog does not implicitly or explicitly convey any warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the information contained herein.

This Blog has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for this Blog.

This Blog takes your privacy very seriously. Our customers told us they want to see clear, easy-to-read information about our privacy commitments and policies. We have made our privacy policies easier to find and easier to read. And we're listening. We welcome your questions and feedback on our privacy policies, and invite you to contact us with your thoughts.

Customer Privacy Controls and Choices:
• You can review and correct your Personal Information collected by us.
• You can limit certain types of solicitation communications from AT&T, including marketing contacts made via telephone, e-mail and text messaging.
• We will provide you with notice of changes to this policy.

Our privacy commitments are fundamental to the way we do business every day. These apply to everyone who has a relationship with this Blog and visitors.
• We will protect your privacy and keep your personal information safe. We use powerful encryption and other security safeguards to protect customer data, when available.
• We will not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose. Period.
• We will fully disclose our privacy policies in plain language, and make our policies easily accessible to you.
• We will notify you of any revisions to our privacy policy, in advance. No surprises.
• You have choices about how this Blog uses your information for marketing purposes. Customers are in control.


This Privacy Policy identifies and describes the way This Blog uses and protects the information we collect about visitors. All use of this Blog is subject to this Privacy Policy.

Use of Location Information
• When your wireless device is on, it sends periodic signals to the nearest cell site. We use that information to provide your wireless services;
• You can use your wireless device to obtain a wide array of services based on the approximate location of the device, referred to as Location Based Services, or LBS. The information you receive in connection with your use of LBS may include advertisements related to your request and your location;

Online Activity Tracking and Advertising
• We collect information about your activity on this Blog for a number of purposes using technologies such as cookies, Web beacons, widgets and server log files.
• We and our advertising partners use that information, as well as other information they have or we may have, to help tailor the ads you see on our sites and to help make decisions about ads you see on other sites.

The Information We Collect, How We Collect It, And How We Use It

We collect different types of personal and other information based on your use of our products and services and our business relationship with you. Some examples include:
• Contact Information that allows us to communicate with you -- including your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
• Equipment, Performance, Site Usage, Viewing and other Technical Information about your use of our network, services, products or Web sites.

We collect information in 2 primary ways:
• You give it to us when you register to provide comments;
• We collect it automatically when you visit our Blog.

We use the information we collect in a variety of ways, including to:
• Provide you with the best visitor experience possible;
• Deliver customized content that may be of interest to you;
• Address network integrity and security issues;
• Investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, violations of our Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policies; and
• For local directory and directory assistance purposes.

Aggregate or Anonymous Information:

We may share aggregate or anonymous information in various formats with trusted entities’ only for purposes such as:
• Our knowledge, and offer of information that may be of interest to you;
• Universities, laboratories and other entities that conduct scientific research; and
• Media research companies for general information only.