European Company Statute
blocked by national delays

The European Company Statute became available for use in theory on 8 October 2004, more than thirty years since it was first proposed by the Commission. However, only six of the 28 EU and EEA Member States have implemented the regulations at national level which are 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.

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.

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