European Union-Suggestion is to Bring More Rights for Shareholders. 

European Union Single Market-commissioner Charly McCreedy presents draft for EU-guideline.

Brussels/January 2006. The EU-Single Market-commissioner Charly McCreevy has present a draft for a new guideline to the public, which particularly for those shareholders is to bring the easements, who hold shares of enterprises in another European Union state.

It is today no longer unusual, that shareholders large packages of shares hold by European stock exchange-noted enterprises, which reside in another member state. By this distance of shareholder to the enterprise many of them are “passive shareholders” however, thus they do not use their right to vote in the general meeting. Thereby other shareholders - also with small shares - could exert relatively strong influence. 

The new guideline plans the possibility for the simpler and more economical practice of the right to vote and other shareholder rights of foreign shareholders. Among other things the shareholders are to be able to place questions also electronically at general meetings in the future. Also necessarily for it is the punctual and comprehensive information about the general meeting, independent than that, where the individual shareholder is resident, so that the possibility exists, to meet  considered decisions and give their votes at due dater.
The legal obstacles for the participation in general meetings on electronic way were swept thereby out of the way, the active participation in the general meeting alleviated.

But thus not enough. Intended also is the removal of any form of the share blocking, which prevents, that some days before the general meeting up to their end, shares are sold. In the future the right must be proven to the participation in the general meeting by the shareholder only up to a certain deadline. Exact regulation for this are left to the individual European Union states. 

Now still the parliament and the member states must agree after appropriate consultation. With a resolution is not calculated before end of the year. The national conversion could be realised then in the year 2007.

© ESI 2005