INSOL Europe December Newsletter. View this email in your browser. |

December 2024
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Dear Members
The last month of the year is coming to a close soon, which is always a very busy time for all of us and our clients who want the work to be finished before Christmas. We at INSOL Europe have also had a very busy month, with work on the Strategic Taskforce 2025/2030 and preparations for all meetings in 2025 and further years. We also have worked on strengthening ties with others, including young academics and several national associations and INSOL International.
Registration for our EECC Conference in Bucharest, Romania, from 8-9 May 2025 will be open very soon. Watch out for the programme and do reserve the dates in your diary. We would really love to have a lot of participants, in this interesting capital of Romania. I will be there, for sure.
The next edition of Eurofenix will be out in the beginning of January 2025. Undoubtedly the new edition will prove to be another interesting read. I applaud the Joint Chief Editors José Carles and EdvÄ«ns Draba, and the rest of the Editorial Board, without whom it would not be possible to make such an interesting publication. Next year you will also see changes in our INSOL Europe news that is sent out to you weekly. We will be making changes in the content of the news that we bring to you. We would love to hear your comments as soon as the new format is sent out.
I wish you all happy holidays, hopefully with some free time to recharge, so then you will be ready for an exciting new year, 2025!
Alice van der Schee
President, INSOL Europe
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Alice van der Schee
President of
INSOL Europe
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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
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First event of 2025: Online Seminar with Pravo-Justice |

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Preventive Restructuring in Ukraine:
Lessons learned from EU Member States
Pravo-Justice and INSOL Europe will join their forces for an online half-day conference on Friday 24 January 2025 further to the implementation of the Directive (EU) 2019/1023 on Restructuring and Insolvency in Ukraine. Indeed, on 22 October 2024, the President of Ukraine signed the law No. 3985-IX adopted by the Parliament of Ukraine on 19 September 2024 amending the Bankruptcy Code and introducing a preventive restructuring framework aligned with the EU acquis.
The event will focus on the lessons learned from the practical experience of the implementation of the Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency in Member States to prepare the entry into force of the Ukrainian preventive restructuring framework.
Information about the seminar will be published in January.
Visit our events website for more details when available.
About Pravo Justice
The EU-funded Project Pravo-Justice promotes greater rule of law in Ukraine, in line with European standards and comparative practices. For more information about the organization's mission, visit their website: https://www.pravojustice.eu/en
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EECC Conference 2025 - Save the Date! |

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We are pleased to announce that the Eastern European Countries' Committee Conference will return to Romania in 2025 for its 19th Annual Conference on Friday 9 May 2025. The venue for the conference will be Bucharest, with a networking dinner taking place on the evening of Thursday 8 May. Further details will be published shortly.
The co-chairs of the INSOL Europe EECC, Stela Ivanova (bnt attorneys in CEE, Bulgaria) and Georges-Louis Harang (Addleshaw Goddard (Europe), France) are currently forming the technical committee and planning the technical programme. More details will be announced when registration is due to open.
With thanks to our EECC Conference Sponsor:

About the Eastern European Countries' Committee
The East European Countries' Committee (EECC) was created in 2004 at the end of the Annual Conference, held in Prague that year. The EECC is hosted by two co-chairs, one from Eastern Europe and one from Western Europe, in order to represent all aspects of activities in both areas and in order to create a balanced event, suitable for all our members.
Thanks to the existence of the EECC, INSOL Europe counts members from Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Kosovo, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine.
The objectives of the EECC are to:
- keep contact with the national professional associations in Eastern Europe,
- organise an annual conference in the Eastern countries,
- prepare interesting content for the conferences,
- recruit as many new local members as possible,
- have representatives of the Eastern countries on the Editorial Board of Eurofenix, and
- invite the members from the Eastern countries to contribute EIR-case law
For further information visit the EECC pages on our website.
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2024 Richard Turton Award Winning Paper Published |
The Richard Turton Award 2024 was presented to Emily Onyango by then President of INSOL Europe Giorgo Corno, at the Sorrento Annual Congress in Italy. Emily travelled from Kenya especially for the conference, which was paid for out of the fund for the award.
The panel adjudicating this year’s applications was made up of Barry Cahir, INSOL Europe former President; Neil Cooper, INSOL International; Nicky Fisher, R3 and Yin Lee, IPA.
Emily's paper on “Financing Corporate Rescue in Kenya: The Case for a Corporate Rescue Fund”, is now published in full on our website, and a summary will be published in Eurofenix.
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Emily is an Insolvency Professional, Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, Governance Auditor, Certified Secretary and Certified Professional Mediator. She is currently a Consultant at Adili Group, an affiliate of Africa Legal Network, where she advises clients on business restructuring, distress, and recovery.
Full details of the Turton Award and papers of the previous winners can be found on our website.
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Renew your Membership and enjoy these Benefits
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Visit our website for more details or contact Hannah Denney.
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INSIDE Story: The challenges of Kosovo's New Insolvency Law |
In August 2024, Kosovo adopted a new Law on Bankruptcy Proceedings, repealing the previous law of 2016. The new law is partially harmonized with the EU Regulation 2015/848 on insolvency proceedings (recast) and Directive (EU) 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring frameworks. The new Law presents multiple changes to insolvency proceedings, ranging from changes to the involuntary initiation of cases to termination of bankruptcy, as well as a new institutional setup regarding selection and disciplinary proceedings for bankruptcy administrators. Moreover, in February 2022, the Law on the Commercial Court entered into force, establishing the Commercial Court as the competent court for insolvency proceedings.
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These changes have been prompted by the judiciary and private sector, who have highlighted numerous loopholes and irregularities in the Bankruptcy Law 2016. Additionally, they were included as necessary changes within the Kosovo Rule of Law Strategy 2021-2026 (“RoL Strategy”), such as establishing the Chambers of Bankruptcy Administrators and aligning the Law on Bankruptcy Proceedings with the Law on the Commercial Court.
Nonetheless, the number of insolvency disputes in Kosovo remains low. From January until September 2024, there were nine insolvency cases. Seven were continued from previous years, and two were newly filed in 2024. None of these cases were resolved during this period.
Key changes to insolvency proceedings imposed by the new legal framework are outlined in the Inside Story by Vlora Maxhuni, Rule of Law Advisor, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Kosovo. Read the full story and others here.
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Statistics Update: Second Chance and New Challenges in Greece |
The reform of the insolvency framework under Law 4738/2020 for Debt Restructuring and the Provision of a Second Chance has brought significant changes to the approach of insolvency and pre-insolvency procedures in Greece, report Yiannis Bazinas and Katerina Fanouraki (Bazinas Law Firm, Athens, Greece)
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The creation of a unified digital database, in accordance with the requirements of Directive 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and the Council on a framework for preventive restructuring, provides complete and transparent access to information covering all stages of insolvency and restructuring procedures, enabling institutions to understand market trends and assess the effectiveness of the new framework.
In 2023, insolvency filings registered with the Electronic Solvency Registry reached 1.700, 90% of which concerned consumers. In 2024, the number of registered filings has already risen to 1.930, with only 8.5% concerning filings of legal entities. This pattern, in correlation with the number of filings in previous years, reveals a steady increase in applications by consumers, which may be attributed to the onset of a more widespread financial distress as a result of inflation and the energy crisis affecting many households. The above statistical data enable us to reach the conclusion that a significant portion of consumers is willing to undergo insolvency, since the simplified and expedited insolvency procedure for "small and medium-sized" debtors, combined with the possibility of automatic discharge from remaining debts for all individuals, offers a swift social and economic reintegration.
Rehabilitation proceedings remain significantly less common than insolvency proceedings, proving that formal restructuring tools are in practice relevant only for larger corporate debtors. In 2023, there were 28 applications for the ratification of rehabilitation agreements, 26 of which were eventually approved, whereas so far in 2024 so far, 45 applications have been submitted and 27 rehabilitation agreements have been ratified. The data thus shows a significant uptick in rehabilitation proceedings, indicating that corporates are trying to take advantage of prevailing macroeconomic conditions in order to prepare ahead of a potentially imminent economic downturn.
Overall, the digitization of insolvency procedures, although valuable, is still subject to improvement, as there is a need for adaptation to current institutional changes in the justice system, while continuous training of those involved in insolvency procedures is deemed essential, with the aim of improving the understanding and implementation of the new legal framework, as well as enhancing the efficiency of the procedures.
Further statistics from Greece and other jurisdictions can be found here.
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Country Report: Ukraine to implement Preventive Debt Restructuring |
On 23 January 2025, Law No. 3985-IX will come into force in Ukraine, introducing a ‘preventive restructuring’ mechanism. Through this law, Ukraine will harmonise its legislation with EU law, providing economically active enterprises facing financial difficulties access to effective preventive restructuring frameworks that will allow them to continue operating. Vadym Kizlenko (Counsel, Co-Head of Insolvency and Financial Restructuring, Attorney at Law, Insolvency Receiver, Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm, Ukraine) reports.
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On 19 September 2024, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada adopted Law No. 3985-IX, pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding between Ukraine as Borrower and the EU as Lender. Based on the terms of the Memorandum, Ukraine was to improve its bankruptcy legislation in accordance with the principles of EU Directive 2019/1023, which deals with preventive restructuring frameworks, the discharge of debt, and disqualifications, as well as measures to make restructuring, insolvency, and debt discharge procedures more efficient.
In accordance with the new law, a preventive restructuring procedure has been introduced consisting of a series of organizational, economic, managerial, investment, technical, financial, economic and legal measures aimed at preventing or averting the insolvency of the debtor. In addition to any changes in the debtor’s assets and liabilities, the preventive restructuring plan may also include any necessary operational changes or combinations of these elements.
With the new law, a whole new set of provisions for regulating preventive restructuring have been incorporated into the Code of Ukraine on Bankruptcy Procedures:
- Preventive restructuring may be initiated by a debtor – a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur.
- The direct decision to initiate the preventive restructuring procedure shall be made by the supreme management body, the owner of the property (the body authorised to manage the property).
- The preventive restructuring plan shall be approved by the court after negotiations with the involved creditors to agree on the plan and preventive restructuring measures.
The provisions of the new law define the cases in which an Insolvency Receiver must participate in the preventive restructuring procedure as a ‘Preventive Restructuring Administrator’. There will be several responsibilities of the Insolvency Receiver, including providing recommendations regarding preventing insolvency, developing a plan for preventing insolvency, facilitating negotiations between creditors and debtors as well as overseeing and controlling the debtor’s business activities.
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Forthcoming Events in 2025 - Save the Dates! |
As we look ahead to 2025, we are already working on our next series of high-profile events, presenting many opportunities for businesses, industries, and professionals to connect, innovate, and grow. The year will offer numerous occasions for networking, thought leadership, and market expansion. Here’s a preview of the key INSOL Europe events that will drive business opportunities and shape trends in 2025.
- 24 January 2025, Pravo Justice Online Seminar, tbc
- 8-9 May 2025, EECC Conference, Bucharest, Romania
- 12-14 June 2025, AIJA/INSOL Europe Young Members Group (YMG) Joint Conference, Girona, Spain
- 3 July 2025, Joint Conference with R3
- 7-8 October 2025, Academic Forum Conference, Vienna, Austria
- 9-12 October 2025, Annual Congress, Vienna, Austria
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Visit our website for more events to be added as they are confirmed.
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We welcome feedback, news and story ideas for future newsletters.
Please send your suggestions to Paul Newson, CEO & Communications Manager,
email: paulnewson@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. |
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