Thank you for tuning into our “Autumn Speed Networking” session on Thursday, 2 September. We hope you made some new connections with like-minded professionals or managed to catch up with old friends.

We managed to get nearly 40 Young Members and Non-Members of INSOL Europe online. Our dear president, Marcel Groenewegen, opened the event which was a great honor for us and so was the participation of our long time sponsor, Robert Schiebe of Schiebe und Collegen, who had an active role in the session again. 

As Co-chairs it was a great opportunity to give you some background information on what we’ve been doing over the Summer and what our plans are for later this year and next year. It became clear that in the next six months the YMG will be firing on all cylinders: the Autumn Online Conference will include a YMG panel-discussion and a pre-Christmas event is being planned. Early in 2022 we are going “full steam ahead” to Dublin. Member or non-member - don’t miss the YMG drinks reception there! It’s the highlight of the Annual Congress for the young crowd. Last but not least, once more we will strengthen our cooperation with YANIL and with the Insolvency Commission of AIJA so that we have a chance to repeat the legendary time on Mallorca of 2019. 

The actual speed-networking sessions were once again a great success. All the participants had the possibility to meet old and new friends in four different sessions, which each lasted for four minutes. During the breaks between the speed-networking sessions, we had the possibility to exchange thoughts with the larger crowd. The discussion was so lively and the people were so active, we could have carried on for hours. We hope you had the same feeling and that each one of you uses the next opportunity to join in on our next speed networking event and that those of you who are not yet a registered member of INSOL Europe and the YMG feel that it’s time to change that.

If you need a reminder of how the session ran, please feel free to watch the recording on the Young Members Group website.

In Quest of a Harmonisation: Tilting at Windmills?
Report by Myriam Mailly (Technical Officer) and Paul Omar (Technical Research Coordinator)

After finishing work on the Preventive Restructuring Directive (PRD) in 2019, the European Commission’s Experts’ Group in Restructuring and Insolvency (ECEG) resumed its work after a long hiatus in April 2021. This time, it is looking at new proposals for possible greater convergence in substantive insolvency law that have been floated in the wake of an outline impact assessment (December 2020) and a subsequent public consultation (open till April 2021).

Prompted by the Capital Markets Union (CMU) Action Plan and realisation of the internal market significance of insolvency law fragmentation arising from studies during the PRD development phase, the difference in insolvency outcomes is seen as a strong factor in investment decisions and a barrier to cross-border investments. As such, it has been felt necessary to examine whether further convergence or harmonisation can be attempted. A further study and impact assessment will be commissioned to confirm these findings as work progresses.

The role of the ECEG is to look at sensitive core aspects of insolvency law (often intertwined with other key aspects of domestic law) and to determine what might be possible for harmonisation. A “rich bouquet” of different issues has already been identified as possible targets during impact assessment, including some substantive topics, some procedural issues and some capacity building elements (including developing court and IOH capacity). In terms of a substantive approach, the ECEG is to work on outlining a variety of possible outcomes, ranging from the extent of harmonisation desired to the type of text that might embody the findings of the group.

Over the course of 2021, the plan is for the ECEG to meet 7 times with the ultimate endpoint scheduled for 2022 Q2. The ECEG is working via sub-groups (clusters) tasked with formulating recommendations on procedural issues, ranking of claims, asset-tracing, avoidance actions, directors’ liability, IOH qualifications and judicial training. The 3 meetings that have already occurred (12 April, 10 May and 22 June) have produced recommendations that are currently being examined by the European Commission.

   
 
The BWILC board, composed of Professors Matthias Haentjens, Reinout Vriesendorp, Stephan Madaus, Joeri Vananroyeand 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.  
 
Maryam Malakotipour and Niccolò Usai
 
 
 

The First Virtual Fraud Conference took place on 2 and 3 February 2021, attracting more than 150 participants from jurisdictions all over the EU. The Fraud Conference was co-organised by R3, the UK Fraud Advisory Panel and INSOL Europe’s Anti-Fraud Forum. Report by Carmel King and Bart Heynickx, co-chairs of the Anti-Fraud Forum. 
 
Over two days, the conference provided over 15 live and on-demand sessions, joining more than 30 highly renowned speakers from a wide variety of institutions including the Cabinet Office, UNODC, HMRC, NCA, BBC, the House of Lords, Transparency International, the SFO, the EPPO and a range of chambers, legal and professional advisory firms. INSOL Europe’s own Marcel Groenewegen, Stephane Bonifassi and Hector Sbert kindly contributed their expertise.

Read the full report on the Anti-Fraud Forum News page here.

As noted in the November newsletter, the European Commission has launched the process building up to a new instrument in the insolvency law field. Building on the success of the European Insolvency Regulation (Recast) 2015 and the Preventive Restructuring Directive 2019, DG Justice has taken 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 announced so far for this initiative include the prerequisites for commencement of proceedings (including a definition of insolvency); avoidance actions and the effects of claw-back rights; asset-tracing frameworks; directors’ duties in the vicinity of insolvency; the position of secured creditors and the balance between secured creditors and other stakeholders (e.g., employees, suppliers); as well as the issue of court expertise and the training of judges.
 
Following on the first phase of consultation in November 2020, in which feedback on an Inception Assessment was sought by DG Justice about the desirability of an initiative, a second phase in the consultation process has now been opened. This invites responses on the areas already identified as possible subjects of the initiative, particularly seeking statistical support for priorities to be taken into account in the next phases leading to the drafting of a text.
 
This is a further excellent opportunity for INSOL Europe members to help determine the shape of future insolvency law in Europe by assisting in the formulation of priorities for the European Commission initiative. 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 at the European Commission website at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12592-Insolvency-laws-increasing-convergence-of-national-laws-to-encourage-cross-border-investment/public-consultation
 
Please note that there is a simple registration process to access the questionnaire and that the deadline is Friday 26 March 2021.