Marcel Groenewegen
President of
INSOL Europe

On 3 and 10 December 2020 we will be holding our first Eastern European Countries' Committee online conference 'Tectonic Changes in Eastern European Insolvency', bringing together fresh insight and exceptional speakers.

With a renewed spotlight on insolvency, gaining fresh insight and real-life examples will help us, as insolvency professionals, stay on top of our game, enhance business resiliency, ensure business continuity and most importantly, stay connected. Watch, listen and ask questions from the convenience of your home or office, no travel needed.

Hot topics to be discussed:

• Financing companies in difficulty during coronavirus times
• COVID stories of restructuring and insolvency
• Implementing the Directive on restructuring and second chance in Eastern Europe
• Maximising the outcome of the insolvency public sales

So don't delay - add the dates to your calendar, register today and join us online!

Thank you to our conference main sponsor

PLUS: If you haven't seen it already, watch the EECC COVID Coffee Break here.

On Thursday 17 December (12.00 GMT/13.00 CET) we will be holding an online webinar devoted to the practitioners in the field of restructuring (PIFOR) created by the EU Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency. Free for members!

The two working groups - Insolvency Office Holders Forum (IOH) and Turnaround Wing (TW) - are combining their efforts for this one-off event entitled “PIFOR, Where Art Thou? What will the new world for Office Holders look like?”

The webinar will be led by the Co-Chairs of the IOH Forum and Co-Chairs of the Turnaround Wing, discussing the following topics:

• Qualification / eligibility / appointment system of the insolvency practitioners and practitioners in the field of restructuring
• Cooperation between INSOL Europe and the EBRD in the revision of the EBRD IOH Principles
• Attractiveness of the profession in the field of restructuring
• Liability of the practitioners in the field of restructuring

 Visit our website for further details and to register your free place.

Registrations are now open for our joint virtual fraud conference on the 2 & 3 February 2021, which will provide a counter-fraud toolkit for practitioners to help them prepare for the new world.

Get your tickets at the special price here!
Only 50 available before they go up to full price!

We are pleased to offer you a chance to buy one of the first 50 tickets at the special early-bird rate, saving 20% off the normal price. Your ticket will give you full access to all live and on-demand sessions, Meeting Hub and Virtual Exhibition. 

R3 are processing all registrations for the Fraud Conference – including those received from members of the Fraud Advisory Panel and INSOL Europe. Members of INSOL Europe should use your unique booking code below:

INSOL Europe Member: INSOLFC21
Young Member: NewINSOLFC21

This conference will bring together world-class speakers including policymakers, insolvency experts, fraud specialists and renowned academics, who will deliver unique insights into hot topics related to global financial crime including tackling rogue companies, cryptocurrency fraud, digital forensics, how to make fraudsters pay and much more.

Remember, there are only 50 special price tickets so click here for more information and to register your place!

Watch the videos here

The COVID Coffee Breaks are brought to you in partnership with LexisNexis with whom INSOL Europe is honoured to collaborate on the COVID-19 tracker of insolvency reforms globally.

The COVID Coffee Breaks are free for all to view, so please do share the coming invitations with your colleagues and friends. Take a break, have a coffee and enjoy the COVID Coffee Break!

In Russia, Federal Law No. 289-FZ dated 31 July 2020 has introduced a procedure for the extrajudicial bankruptcy of natural persons. Pursuant to this law, as from 1 September 2020, individuals can enter a bankruptcy process and can obtain a bankruptcy discharge without paying any fees, outside of court proceedings and without the appointment of an insolvency practitioner being necessary.

Personal or consumer bankruptcy is a relatively new phenomenon in Russian bankruptcy law. Unlike companies, prior to 1 October 2015, individuals who were not entrepreneurs could not file for bankruptcy in Russia. Occasionally, they even resorted to a “bankruptcy tourism” to benefit from a discharge granted in a foreign jurisdiction. This changed in 2015 with the addition of Chapter X (Personal Bankruptcy) to the Russian Bankruptcy Act. Since then, the number of personal bankruptcy cases has been steadily on the rise. 

Ilya Kokorin, of Counsel, Buzko Legal, Russia; Doctoral Researcher, Leiden University looks into the new law. 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.

The European Commission has announced the first steps in a possible new instrument in the insolvency law field. Building on the success of the European Insolvency Regulation (Recast) 2015 and the recently introduced Preventive Restructuring Directive 2019, DG Justice is taking the lead in a project arising from the work of the Experts Group on Restructuring and Insolvency and has identified possible avenues to pursue towards the convergence of insolvency law rules within the EU.

Areas of interest for this initiative include the prerequisites for when insolvency proceedings should be commenced (including a definition of insolvency and entitlement to file for insolvency); the conditions for determining avoidance actions and the effects of claw-back rights; asset-tracing frameworks, including in the context of avoidance actions; a focus on directors’ duties in the vicinity of insolvency; the position of secured creditors in insolvency and the right balance between secured creditors and the need to protect other creditors (e.g. employees, suppliers); as well as the issue of court expertise and the training of judges.

The rationale for the initiative is the view that efficient insolvency laws are one of the key criteria for cross-border investors. The confidence in cross-border financing that would result from closer integration of insolvency law is believed ultimately to boost the European Union’s capital markets. This initiative has been designed to address what are perceived as the main discrepancies in national corporate insolvency laws (outside the banking sector), that many have recognised as potential obstacles to a well-functioning Capital Markets Union.

As part of this first phase of consultation, feedback on a “Roadmap” (or “Incept Impact Assessment”) has been sought by DG Justice. The feedback will help determine the scope of the project, its proposed content, the methodology of adoption (soft-law, Recommendation or Directive) as well as any ancillary considerations. The feedback will also help determine the pathway for progress and the further development and fine tuning of the initiative. It will also inform the next phase, likely to involve wider public consultation of stakeholders and interested parties, for which the European Commission will summarise any input received in a synopsis report explaining how this has informed the shape of the project.

This is a golden opportunity to help determine the shape of future insolvency law in Europe as well as the desirability of the proposals outlined by the European Commission. To this end, INSOL Europe members in all jurisdictions, but especially those in recent EU accession and candidate countries, can help by filling out the online questionnaire, which is available, together with the “Roadmap”, on which views are sought, at the European Commission website.

NB. Please note, the roadmap is open for feedback for a limited period (deadline Wednesday 9 December 2020).