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INSOL Europe news and offers
March 2021

Dear Members

While we are all still struggling with the COVID-19 restrictions in our countries, hopefully the sped-up vaccination pace will bring some relief well before the Summer season.

I am glad and proud to present to you this newsletter with an overview of INSOL Europe’s recent and upcoming activities, all digital and online (of course). 

We can look back at a very successful online 2021 Spring Conference on 4 and 18 March 2021 - please see the report in this newsletter below. Many thanks to Chris Laughton as facilitator, all panellists and speakers and the entire INSOL Europe team for running this conference.

Just this week, the latest edition of our “Coffee Breaks: Connecting Minds 2021” series was published, featuring developments in Russia. Many thanks to all who made this possible.

On 18 March the Young Members Group organized a successful online speed-networking event, which allowed young members to meet and connect with one another. As you all know, it is one of INSOL Europe’s primary long-term objectives to increase the involvement of young people in our organization and I am glad that the speed-networking worked so well. A video of the event (of course, not showing the speed-networking talks themselves…) will be made available on the Young Members Group pages of the INSOL Europe website shortly. Many thanks to co-chairs Clarissa Nitsch and Robert Peldan for organizing this event.

Our next upcoming online event will be on 15 April 2021 when INSOL Europe and INSOL International will “bridge the Atlantic” in a joint online seminar. This seminar will be held in the early morning and at the end of the day, allowing professionals from all over the world to participate. Details of the event and how to register can be found below.

Many of you will be working in your jurisdictions with new legislation and rules of law, relating to the implementation of the EU Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency. To allow you all to keep track on the progress of the implementation INSOL Europe has launched a tracker, which is available on our website. Please see this newsletter below for more information. 

You will also find in this newsletter updates on our other new initiatives. Do visit INSOL Europe’s website to stay up to date. 

Many thanks to all those who contributed to this newsletter and I wish you all enjoyable reading.

Please stay optimistic, safe and healthy. I hope the Spring season and upcoming daylight saving time will make a little difference. 

Marcel Groenewegen
President INSOL Europe

 

  

Marcel Groenewegen
President of
INSOL Europe

 

This issue is kindly sponsored by:
 

LETT

DLA Piper is a global law
firm with lawyers located
in more than 40 countries throughout the world.
www.dlapiper.com
2021 Spring Conference Report: 'Don't Worry, Restructure!'

On the theme of restructuring, the springtime event took place across 4 and 18 March 2021. Averaging over 80 participants and facilitated by Chris Laughton (Mercer & Hole, UK), sponsors were Moon Beever and Abreu Advogados.

Keynote speaker at the first session William Keegan (Senior Economics Commentator, Observer) responded to questions on the latest of his recently published “Nine Crises”: Austerity and the Referendum. Panels then followed on the Implementation of the Preventive Restructuring Directive, seeing panel updates from Germany and the Netherlands, and a focus on Aviation in Crisis: Emergency Exit, analysing the pandemic’s disastrous impact on the airline industry, despite which many restructurings have occurred over the last year.

In the second session, the keynote speaker Professor Georg Kodek (Vienna University of Economics and Business; Judge, Supreme Court) gave an account of Austria’s approach to cross-border cooperation, suggesting future challenges, including re-assessing the purpose of restructuring. The first panel on Jurisdiction, Recognition and Enforcement post-Brexit outlined the post-Brexit position on recognition and enforcement and suggested the UNCITRAL Model Law as a viable alternative with the possibility of some European member states becoming important restructuring links. The final panel, titled Experiences on the Front Line – Insolvency Practice in the Pandemic, gave practical illustrations of practice, covering the UK Café Concerto CVA proposal and, in Germany, the impact on the Adler Group of failure to access state funds.

A full report by Myriam Mailly (Technical Officer) and Paul Omar (Technical Research Coordinator) will be published in the Spring edition of Eurofenix.

With thanks to our Conference Sponsors
INSOL International Joint Online Seminar: Registration now open

Registration now open here

INSOL International and INSOL Europe are joining forces to present an online seminar for the first time on 15 April 2021 with speakers drawn from across the sector. 

The seminar will address global hot-topics, looking at digital assets and insolvency and Covid-19 national temporary legislation. This is a great opportunity to focus on the things that matter most in the global economy right now and hear from thought leaders from across the globe.

The virtual seminar will be held over two sessions, the first from 9am–10:30am BST and the second from 6pm–7:30pm BST held on Zoom. View the outline programme here.

Registration will be £30.00 for members of INSOL Europe, or £50.00 for non-members. 

More details will be published when available. If you have any queries in the meantime, please contact Event Manager, Harriet Taylor. We look forward to an exciting event!

With thanks to our Conference Sponsor
Date for your diary: Academic Forum Online Lecture

Registration now open here

INSOL Europe's Academic Forum is excited to announce an online lecture by esteemed Professor N. Bermejo, on the topic of "Public Creditors in Preventive Restructuring Frameworks: Considerations in the light of the Pandemic Crisis", to be held on 20 May 2021.

Nuria Bermejo is Professor on Commercial Law (“Profesora Titular”) at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) since 2008. From March 2008 to October 2015, she was Legal Secretary (“Référendaire”) at the EU General Court (Luxembourg). She has lectured in other Spanish universities, as well as in European higher education institutions and South-American universities. 

Further details about Professor N. Bermejo can be found on our website.

The Academic Forum is 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.
Visit our website for more details or contact Membership Manager, Hannah Denney.

 

INSIDE Story: Implementation of the EU Directive in Germany

On 22 November 2016, the European Commission presented a proposal for a directive to transform the restructuring and reorganisation laws within the European Union, which was supposed to help finally deal with the consequences of the 2008/2009 financial crisis. After extensive discussion surrounding the topic, a compromise was reached between the Council, the Commission and the Parliament in December 2018, leading to Directive (EU) 2019/1023.

The implementation of the Directive has now been finalised in Germany with the adoption of the Stabilisation and Restructuring Framework for Enterprises Act (Unternehmensstabilisierungs- und restrukturierungsgesetz/StaRUG) in the Bundestag on 17 December 2020. The StaRUG is intended to create the basis for the enforcement and implementation of corporate restructurings against the resistance of creditor minorities while avoiding insolvency proceedings.

Olomon Ljumani (Associate, ATN-Rechtsanwälte, Wuppertal; Lecturer, University of Public Administration North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) outlines the key points of the new legislation in our latest INSIDE Story. Read the full story and other articles here.

If you would like the opportunity to have your Inside Story published in a future edition, please email Communications Manager, Paul Newson for details.
Coffee Breaks: Connecting Minds 2021 - More videos published

Our Coffee Breaks: Connecting Minds 2021 series continues with our popular video conversation format established in 2020.

This year, the INSOL Europe Country Coordinators will share their experiences with representatives from their local associations, highlighting the reforms and challenges of the national insolvency framework to address the current crisis and other key issues in their jurisdiction.

The latest video from Russia can be seen here alongside videos from Latvia, Portugal, Finland and France.

Coffee Breaks: Connecting Minds 2021 are brought to you in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and its Legal Transition Programme (LTP). The LTP is the EBRD’s initiative to contribute to the improvement of the investment climate in the Bank’s countries of operations by helping create an investor-friendly, transparent and predictable legal environment. This objective is implemented by the Legal Transition Team, a dedicated team of specialised lawyers working across the 38 economies where the EBRD invests.

If you would like to sponsor a Coffee Break video in 2021, please contact Hannah Denney, Sponsorship Manager, for details.

Watch the latest videos here

 

In partnership with:
Implementation of the EU Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency

We are pleased to announce that a tracker on the implementation of the EU Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency is now available in the form of a downloadable table on the INSOL Europe website.

The tracker aims to identify the different steps in the process of the implementation of the Directive in all EU Member States, for example the work in progress (if any) of different groups, the official drafts publicly available, the use (or not) of the extension option by national policy makers and the final texts adopted by the national legislators with relevant links when available.

The tracker will be regularly updated in the months to come (until July 2022 which will be the ultimate deadline for Member States having used the extension option provided for by Article 34(2) of the Directive) and will include the publication of the list of the vast majority of Member States which have finally made use of the extension option provided for by Article 34(2) of the Directive.

In the meantime, relevant information regarding the EU Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency of 20 June 2019 remains available on our website.

 
Virtual Law Workshop gathers PhD researchers from across Europe

From 4 to 5 March 2021, the Stichting (Foundation) Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection (BWILC) organised the third edition of the PhD Workshop on European and International Insolvency Law. The participants had the chance to be part of an inspiring and interactive two-day virtual workshop.

PhD candidates were selected from applications from around the globe to present their ongoing research.

The eight successful PhD candidates included Preeti Nalavadi (Adelaide University), Maryam Malakotipour (Amsterdam University), Sander Baeyens (KU Leuven University), Andrey Esmanskiy (Saint-Petersburg University), Vilija Mogenytė (Mykolas Romeris University), Emily Defreyne (Ghent University), Niccolò Usai (Florence University) and Richard Bradstreet (Cape Town University). The presentations covered a broad spectrum of topics, including insolvency and bitcoins, subordination of (affiliated) claims, executory contracts, public policy and the role of the insolvency law practitioner, employee protection in insolvency, as well as discussions about insolvency law from an economics perspective.

The BWILC board, composed of Professors Matthias Haentjens, Reinout Vriesendorp, Stephan Madaus, Joeri Vananroye and Dr. Paul Omar, along with Professor Bob Wessels (patron) and alumni from previous workshops were present. Each presentation was followed by an extensive Q&A session, raising questions and providing insightful feedback to further the research. 

At the end of the PhD Workshop, three prizes were awarded by the BWILC board to Niccolò Usai (1st place), Maryam Malakotipour (2nd place) and Sander Baeyens (3rd place) as a recognition of the most original presentations. Emily Defreyne received an honourable mention for her presentation. In 2022, the board hopes to organise a fourth edition of this BWILC PhD Workshop live in Leiden.  
 
Other Dates for your Diary: Spring 2021

Experiences, evolutions and perspectives in business law in the post-pandemic era: 13-15 May 2021. 

The International Conference on Business Law, organized by the Romanian Institute of Commercial Law, INSOL Europe and the Faculties of Law of Babeș-Bolyai University, Romanian-American University, Nicolae Titulescu University and Titu Maiorescu University will take place online between 13-15 May 2021.

Further details on our website: www.insol-europe.org/events

 

We welcome feedback, news and story ideas for future newsletters. 

Please send your suggestions to Paul Newson, Communications Manager,
email: paulnewson@insol-europe.org.
INSOL Europe, PO Box 7149, Clifton, Nottingham. NG11 6WD
www.insol-europe.org
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Disclaimer: This newsletter is sent to members of INSOL Europe. No responsibility legal or otherwise is accepted by INSOL Europe for any errors, omissions or otherwise. The opinions expressed in the articles that appear are not necessarily shared by any representative of INSOL Europe.