The objective of the European Private Company (“SCE”) is a law to make it easier for European companies small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to carry out cross border activities. This is accomplished by providing SMEs with a particular legal form matched each European Member State.

It is expected that the ability to operate in several Member States under the rules of society will also significantly reduce compliance costs and improve the mobility and competitiveness of European SMEs. The current law applicable to European companies is designed for large enterprises, and is not a viable option for SMEs. This is partly due to the fact that the minimum capital requirement of € 120,000 has been set.

The work was carried out in the law of the EPC over the last three years. In 2004, the Commission launched a feasibility study of the EPC legislation for SMEs. Presented their findings on December 13, 2005. In addition to this feasibility study, a question about the need for legislation EPC has also asked the public consultation on the future of the Company Law and Corporate Governance Action Plan (December 2005-March 2006). The result of the study and consultation, however, is unclear.

Although the law of the CPE was considerable support for SMEs, there were still people who were skeptical about this. The European Parliament has worked on the law of the EPC and the Commission of Legal Affairs has drafted an initiative and a resolution on this issue and make recommendations on the possible content of the law of the CPE. It was adopted by Parliament on 1 February 2007.

Interestingly, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on a European private company in early February 2007, however, little has been done for almost six months. The Committee considered the report and recommendations of the European Parliament and the feasibility study in 2005. While doing this analysis, the Commission found several problems that must be tested on the market. Therefore, the Commission launched a specific consultation on European companies private in July. The intention is that you must give the Commission the facts and evidence necessary for a legislative proposal.

The public consultation running until the end of October. Your results will be analyzed and incorporated in the impact assessment, which is likely to have a number of months. The next step is the preparation of a possible proposal and consultation of the draft text with the experts. exactly when these issues may be clearer at the end of 2007, but only a draft proposal could be ready in the first half of next year.

The Committee also discussed issues relating to a simplified business environment for companies in the areas of corporate law, accounting and auditing. This was underlined by the Commission Communication published in July 2007. An important part of improving the rules of the program is to examine the current European legislation. In this context, a comprehensive review of European company law, accounting policies and audit took place.

The objective of this exercise, not only to reduce administrative burdens on enterprises, especially SMEs, but whether the European rules are still appropriate in today’s business environment. The notice published in July contains the Commission’s proposals on the basis of the results of the review of policies in the areas of corporate law, accounting and auditing.