A Harmonized European Company Law: Are We There Already?

66 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 763-777 (2017), DOI: org/10.1017/S002058931700023.

Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper No. 5/2017

15 Pages Posted: 9 Feb 2017 Last revised: 3 Sep 2017

See all articles by Luca Enriques

Luca Enriques

Bocconi University - Bocconi Law Department; University of Oxford - Faculty of Law; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Date Written: February 8, 2017

Abstract

To what extent is EU company law harmonized? This essay first makes the point that still little progress has been made in the direction of company law uniformity within the EU. It then argues that, even leaving aside the question of whether it would be desirable to have a uniform EU company law, that outcome is simply impossible to achieve, due to interest group resistance and the variety in national meta-rules. Yet the essay concludes that, in a narrow meaning, European company laws have been indeed harmonized: European Member States company laws fit together, which may well be what harmonization, not only etymologically, is all about.

Keywords: Company Law; Harmonization; Uniformity of Laws; Meta-rules; Centros; Regulatory Arbitrage

JEL Classification: G34, K22

Suggested Citation

Enriques, Luca, A Harmonized European Company Law: Are We There Already? (February 8, 2017). 66 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 763-777 (2017), DOI: org/10.1017/S002058931700023. , Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper No. 5/2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2913723

Luca Enriques (Contact Author)

Bocconi University - Bocconi Law Department ( email )

Via Roentgen 1
Milan, MI MI 20136
Italy

University of Oxford - Faculty of Law ( email )

St Cross Building
St Cross Road
Oxford, OX1 3UL
United Kingdom

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

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