Further digitalisation of company law
18/04/23
On 29 March 2023, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive making it easier for companies to expand the use of digital tools and processes in EU company law.
The main goals of the proposal are to:
increase the public availability of information about companies at EU level through the Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS);
make it easier to find information through BRIS which will be connected to the UBO and insolvency registers;
ensure that available information is accurate, reliable and up to date;
reduce the administrative burden.
The Commission’s proposal to reduce the administrative burden includes:
the ‘once-only principle’: Companies will no longer have to re-submit information when setting up a company or a branch in another Member State. All information will be kept and exchanged through BRIS.
an EU Company Certificate: Certificates will contain a basic set of information about companies and will be available free of charge in all EU languages.
a standard model for power of attorney: The plan is to introduce a multilingual standard model for a digital power of attorney which will authorise a person to represent the company in any Member State.
less formalities: Certain formalities such as the need for an apostille or certified translations for company documents will be abolished.
The proposal updates the current EU Directive on certain aspects of company law in order to further adapt these to new challenges and technological developments.
The proposal will first be discussed in the European Parliament and the Council. Then, if adopted, Member States will have two years to transpose the Directive into national legislation.
This proposal is very much in line with the Commission’s digital strategy and agenda. The proposed measures are expected to apply to around 16 million limited liability companies and 2 million partnerships across the EU.
