Dear Members

Welcome to the November edition of our e-Newsletter. 

During this current crisis, a key area where we have changed the way we deliver our services is, naturally, our events and training programme. Since the start of the pandemic, we have produced a substantial number of webinars and virtual events/panel discussions and as you receive this edition, many of you have no doubt attended INSOL Europe's Autumn Online Conference on 7 and 21 October 2021. Whilst nothing can substitute for the cancelled live events that we were all looking forward to, the virtual conference had a fantastic line up of speakers and industry experts yet again, providing in each case impressive insight and updates on the latest trends in insolvency and business turnaround. If you missed the second session, follow the link below in this newsletter to read Paul Omar’s and Myriam Mailly’s full report. 

Next up is our fantastic EECC Online Conference on 25 November 2021, headlined ‘A Wake-Up Call for Sleepy Companies’ and addressing, inter alia, the concerns about the growing number of zombie companies, a topic I recently addressed in my contribution to R3’s magazine Recovery. And whatever your plans may be for 1 December 2021, do not miss our Academic Forum’s next event and Prof. Christoph Thole’s online lecture ‘StaRUG: The New German Restructuring Law’. Last but by no mean least, our Young Members Group will continue to offer younger practitioners an opportunity to connect, this time in the form of a Beer & Chocolate Online Networking Event on 9 December 2021 instead of its traditional wine-tasting event.

The final step we take on our "return to normal" will be celebrating our organisation’s 40th anniversary at INSOL Europe’s Annual Congress in Dublin from 3–6 March 2022. Our programme is broad and diverse indeed, featuring fantastic panels and presentations that will bring you up to speed on the latest trends and developments in our rapidly changing profession and take you [back] to the future indeed. Registrations are open (www.insol-europe.org/events/) and I encourage you to join us.

You will also find in this newsletter an update on Serbia’s recently introduced law on digital assets, which are now recognised as assets in domestic insolvency proceedings. It is a fascinating read which I know you will enjoy.

Florica Sincu

Lastly, it is with great sadness that I report the passing of our dear friend Florica Sincu from an illness she had been suffering with for the last few years. Many of you may have known Florica as a joint editor of our quarterly magazine Eurofenix, a role she fulfilled with passion and dedication. But Florica was much more than that. She was an integral part of the INSOL Europe family over the last 25 years or more, always offering encouragement or a light-hearted comment to make one smile when a deadline loomed, always eager to offer young talent an opportunity to shine. Florica will certainly be missed and in this respect will be a very hard act to follow.

A full obituary will be included in the next edition of Eurofenix and our thoughts and prayers are with her daughter Ioana and her wider family at this difficult time.

Frank Tschentscher
President INSOL Europe

This issue is kindly sponsored by:
 

DLA Piper is a global law
firm with lawyers located
in more than 40 countries throughout the world.
www.dlapiper.com

Set your alarm for our next EECC Online Conference:

A Wake-up Call for Sleepy Companies?

Next week! 16:25 CET, Thursday 25 November 2021 

We are excited to announce our Keynote Speaker and Panellists for our EECC online conference titled 'A wake-up call for sleepy companies?', which is taking place next week.

Keynote Speaker: Catherine Bridge-Zoller, EBRD 
Catherine Bridge Zoller is a Senior Counsel for restructuring and insolvency in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's Legal Transition Team, which aims to promote an investor-friendly, transparent and predictable legal environment in the EBRD’s countries of operations. In 2020 Catherine launched a major insolvency law assessment on restructuring tools across the 38 economies where the EBRD invests in response to the Covid-19 crisis, in partnership with the International Law Development Organization, INSOL Europe, INSOL International and UNCITRAL and in cooperation with the European Commission (www.ebrd-restructuring.com).

Technical Programme

Session 1: The growing army of zombie companies: Are we ready?
Panel Moderator: Roman-Knut Seger, BDO Restructuring GmbH, Germany
Panellists to include: Stela Ivanova, bnt Neupert Ivanova & Kolegi, Bulgaria;
Michal Barlowski, Wardyński & Partners, Poland;
Ernst Giese, Giese & Partner, Czech Republic

Session 2: Turbulent times for the aviation industry. Temporarily or structural?
Panel Moderator: Omar Salah, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, The Netherlands
Panellists to include: Marlies Raschke, Noerr Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB, Germany;
Ramona Faraianu, RTZ, Romania 

Further information
The latest updates will be posted on our website when available. If you have any queries in the meantime, please contact the Secretary to the EECC, Niculina Somlea.

Kindly sponsored by

Benefits of INSOL Europe Membership

• Discounted rates for our conferences and online events
• Free access to our Web series – Coffee Breaks: Connecting Minds 2021
• Free digital copies of publications in the INSOL Europe Technical Series including "The European Communication & Cooperation Guidelines for Cross-Border Insolvency."
• Free copies of Eurofenix, INSOL Europe's popular quarterly journal
• Discounted advertising rates for you and your business in Eurofenix
• Opportunities to join working groups, write articles for our newsletters and website
• Weekly emails with top European insolvency news items
• Access to the INSOL Europe European Insolvency Regulation Case Register now hosted by LexisNexis
• Access to a tracker of insolvency reforms globally produced by Lexis Nexis in partnership with INSOL Europe
• Privileged website access to password protected members' areas which includes:
  • Glossaries of Terms relevant to insolvency laws of most European countries
  • A downloadable version of the Membership Database
  • Material from the Eastern European Countries' Committee
  • Current edition of Eurofenix in PDF format
  • Forthcoming papers by the Academic Forum
  • INSOL Europe's Financial Statements
• Discounted rate for the INSOL International conferences
• Discount of 25% off INSOL International’s Foundation Certificate in International Insolvency Law
• Free copies of INSOL International's quarterly newsletter, "INSOL World", together with their annual Membership Directory and technical releases.

Richard Turton had a unique role in the formation and management of INSOL Europe,
INSOL International, the English Insolvency Practitioners Association and R3, the Association of Business Recovery Professionals in the UK. In recognition of his achievements, these four organisations jointly created an award in memory of Richard. This award for the best paper will be presented at the INSOL Europe Congress in Dublin, 3-6 March 2022.

The deadline for entries into this year's competition is 1 December 2021.

Full details and how to enter can be found on our website.

As well as the events listed above, we have more exciting online and live events planned for the forthcoming months including:

• Young Members Group Beer & Chocolate Networking Online Event: 9 December 2021 - Very limited numbers!
• Joint Fraud Conference, London: Spring 2022 (to be confirmed)
• High-Level Insolvency Course: Autumn 2022 (to be confirmed)

Please visit our website for full details of all these events when available.