“He is a professor emeritus of insolvency law, an adviser to the European Commission, a founder of the International Insolvency Institute and the Conference on European Restructuring and Insolvency Law (CERIL), an expert on the renaissance painter Rembrandt and the holder of a Dutch chivalric order – as well as a long-time GRR columnist. The winner of our 2026 outstanding… Read More »2026-11-doc1 GRR Outstanding contribution award 2026
In April, the EU published Directive (EU) 2026/799 concerning the harmonisation of certain aspects of insolvency law (CAD 2026/799). Its goal is to lay down common rules in all member states on: (a) avoidance actions; (b) tracing of assets belonging to insolvency estates; (c) pre-pack proceedings; (d) duty of directors to submit a request for the opening of insolvency proceedings;… Read More »2026-10-doc4 EU harmonisation of certain aspects of insolvency law faces cross-border test
Continuation of book review; for the first part, see Bob Wessels’ blog 2026-10-02doc2. Recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings The dual treatment (EIR – UNCITRAL) continues with the category of the recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings, featuring excellent contributions by Kodek (pp. 399–406), Pieckenbrock (pp. 407–417), and Silvestri (effects on pending lawsuits, pp. 417–444), preceded by a comprehensive general report by… Read More »2026-10-doc3 EU Insolvency Law and Third Countries (Book review; Part II)
The topic ‘EU Insolvency Law and Third Countries’ is as challenging as it is complex. The book bearing this title was published shortly after the summer of 2026. This long-awaited publication is the outcome of a research project that began in 2021 and was publicly launched in the autumn of 2023 as a joint initiative coordinated by Professors Alexander Trunk… Read More »2026-10-doc2 EU Insolvency Law and Third Countries (Book review; Part I)
During the current decade, restructuring plans have emerged as a widely used instrument for companies that are likely to become insolvent but can demonstrate their business remains viable. Within the EU, Article 8 of the Preventive Restructuring Directive (PRD 2019/1023) outlines the essential elements that restructuring plans must contain when submitted for adoption by groups of affected creditors or for… Read More »2026-10-doc1 What is the status of SME restructuring plan checklists?
A few days ago, I published on my blog an article concerning Annex A of the European Insolvency Regulation (EIR 2025), see https://bobwessels.nl/blog/2026-09-doc3-insolvency-regulations-annex-a-hits-a-stumbling-block-again/. It was a slightly adapted version, which had been published in the Europe column I am writing regularly in Global Restructuring Review (GRR). See www.globalrestructuringreview.com. I received a response from Mark Mouthaan, an experienced restructuring attorney from… Read More »2026-09-doc4 Insolvency Regulation’s Annex A, stumbling over a stumbling block
One of the many topics on the European Commission’s present restructuring and insolvency agenda is the revision of the European Insolvency Regulation (EIR 2015), as I detailed in January 2026 blog, see https://bobwessels.nl/blog/2026-01-26-eu-restructuring-insolvency-what-awaits-us-in-2026/. The regulation was adopted in 2015 and entered into force in 2017. It stipulates that new proposals will be made in the summer of 2027, if necessary.… Read More »2026-09-doc3 Insolvency Regulation’s Annex A hits a stumbling block, again
In January, the District Court of Rotterdam ruled on a request from X (from Manchester) and Y (from London), both acting as administrators appointed by the English High Court in an administration, an English insolvency proceeding concerning company Z. The administrators were appointed to wind up Z, a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales that, in addition to its… Read More »2026-09-doc2 Dutch court tests the limits of post-Brexit insolvency cooperation
Wessels Restructuring Plans (forthcoming) is a European book investigating ‘Preventive restructuring frameworks’, also termed: restructuring plans, which are the subject of Title III, Article 4 – 19, of the Preventive Restructuring Directive 2019/1023. It analyses what a restructuring plan is, including its nature and its legal consequences, and the rules to apply when such a restructuring plan is implemented in… Read More »2026-09-doc1 Restructuring plans, my forthcoming book
My focus today is on a small puzzle: interim proceedings. What are they? Do they have cross-border effect? And can we learn a bit more about them in the future? The EU Insolvency Regulation (EIR 2015) provides in Article 1(1) that the regulation shall apply to “public collective proceedings”, to which the provision adds: “including interim proceedings”. Recital 15 shows the way by… Read More »2026-08-doc2 Do you know what an “interim proceeding” is?