Press Release: Internal Market: Commission acts to ensure implementation of simplified EU rules on mergers and divisions in six countries

The European Commission has acted to ensure that five Member States (Cyprus, Italy, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) comply with their obligation to implement simplified rules on mergers and divisions. The Commission is concerned that the five Member States have failed to fulfil their commitments under the Directive regarding simplified reporting and documentation requirements in case of mergers and divisions (2009/109/EU). The deadline for implementing the rules in question was 30 June 2011. The Commission has also requested the United Kingdom to implement those parts of the Directive it has so far failed to. The aim of the Directive is to simplify requirements on reporting and on publication of draft terms with regard to mergers and divisions. If the Directive is not fully implemented in all Member States, companies cannot reap the benefits of the reduced administrative burdens achieved by the Directive. Timely and correct implementation of the Directive is necessary to achieve this aim.