On the European private company statute (September 2007) (Sharon Bowles MEP)

Sharon Bowles MEP <info@sharonbowles.org.uk>

On the European private company statute (September 2007)

September 4, 2007 12:00 AM
By Sharon Bowles MEP in European Parliament

When I last spoke on this issue in February, I drew to the Commissioner's attention the fact that I did not like all the recommendations in Parliament's report, such as the size of the capital, because I felt that would make any statute along those lines discriminatory in favour of larger companies. Therefore, I welcome the fact that in the Commissioner's latest consultation, he is urging responses by SMEs.

However, we all need to be proactive in seeking those, with emphasis on the small rather than the medium. I shall certainly be doing this within my region and I am pleased to say that there are other bodies within the UK doing likewise, so I welcome efforts to establish the relevance to small companies. This is particularly the case when it is information from smaller companies that is frequently lacking, while, at the same time, we readily acknowledge that it is just those companies that do not have the means to deal with the different laws and regulations and, therefore, in theory at least it is those who we want to benefit most from the statute.

As I see it, this House has made some proposals that would render the statute unlikely to find favour with those very smaller companies, so there is a problem. My message is to keep it simple otherwise, for small companies at least, it would just be a fig leaf for no change.