Mid March 2026, the European Commission presented the long-awaited proposal for a 28th EU regime by way of a new corporate form. The regime has been baptised with a name: EU Inc. This new European legal form can be established within 48 hours, entirely digitally, and for a maximum of €100. Nobody can deny the Commission’s ambition in taking a… Read More »2026-04-doc2 The proposed “EU Inc” and its insolvency context
At an appeal hearing in November 2025, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal was asked to decide on a conflict between Dutch law firm NautaDutilh and Croatian shipbuilding company Brođograde Industrija Split Dioničko Društvo (Brodosplit). Claims are pending between the parties. In ordinary civil proceedings in the Netherlands, NautaDutilh filed a claim for performance for payment against Brodosplit, based on an… Read More »2026-04-doc1 Does a Croatian pre-insolvency proceeding lead to a suspension of civil proceedings pending in the Netherlands?
It’s not the first time a bank has fallen foul of the European Insolvency Regulation (EIR 2015) when a foreign client came forward. See for instance my blog at https://bobwessels.nl/blog/2024-10-doc1-spanish-banks-beware-of-insolvent-dutch-nationals-with-holiday-homes/. This time, the case concerns a German bank (Sparkasse Emsland, located in Meppen, Germany) with an appeal in the Netherlands, filed against an IP referred to as “[the trustee] q.q.… Read More »2026-03-doc3 Bank chokes on the European Insolvency Regulation
The Preventive Restructuring Directive 2019/1023 is best known for its system (in Articles 4-19) for preventive restructuring frameworks (‘restructuring plans’) and the way the directive’s rules have been implemented in the Member States. Other topics are equally important, such as early warning systems and measures to increase the efficiency of proceedings, including improving the professional quality of judges and practitioners,… Read More »2026-03-doc2 Insolvent entrepreneurs in the EU, a right to a fresh start?
For the European Commission, 2026 began with its plan, published in October 2025, to build a more sovereign and independent Europe. The work program, entitled “Europe’s Independence Moment”, addresses current and future challenges arising from threats to the continent’s security and democracy, geopolitical tensions, as well as the risks to the EU’s economy and industry. The leading EU executives have… Read More »2026-01-26 EU Restructuring & Insolvency: What awaits us in 2026?
The European Commission, through its President Ursula von der Leyen, has launched a major drive to systematically review and simplify the EU’s 100,000-page regulatory framework. The Commission’s plan centres on the “Competitiveness Compass” with an ambitious target to cut administrative burdens by at least 25% for all businesses and 35% for SMEs. It seems a Herculean job. The Commission is… Read More »2025-11-doc1 Does Brussels’ “simplification” drive affect insolvency and restructuring law?
Nr VIII in the ‘Ius Communitaties’ series is Michael Stürner’s 2025 volume ‘European Contract Law.’ It offers a comprehensive exposition of European contract law. With xlvii + 683 pages, Stürner presents a European perspective on contracts, not only as a translation of his German book of 2021 on the same subject, but stressing and displaying the non-German, European perspectives. Nevertheless,… Read More »2025-10-doc2 European Contract Law – Michael Stürner’s 2025 book
In Poland, R.S. took out a mortgage loan. The loan, provided by a Polish bank (G SA), was indexed in Swiss francs and was taken out by R.S. in 2007. The total amount was 489,821.63 Polish zloty (around US $ 135,000; Euro: 115.110), with a term of 360 months. R.S. was declared personally insolvent by a Polish insolvency court in… Read More »2025-10-doc1 Clash between consumer law and insolvency law – who wins?
An academic ceremony, at least in the Netherlands, is the defence of a dissertation. Once done successfully the candidate will receive a Doctor of Laws degree. This is what happened to Gert-Jan Boon at Leiden University in early July. His topic of research was the debtor in possession (DIP), a comparative legal approach based on US, EU, and Dutch restructuring… Read More »2025-09-doc2 DIP – debtor-in-possession or defective IP?
The European Insolvency Regulation (EIR 2015) dictates that its overarching definition for “insolvency proceedings” are proceedings that are listed exhaustively in Annex A. To the national procedures contained in Annex A, the EIR 2015 should apply without any further examination by the courts of another member state as to whether the conditions set out in the regulation are met, while… Read More »2025-09-doc1 Lost in translation? Annex A of the European Insolvency Regulation