ITEM/ICGI starts new research project on cross-border corporate mobility in the EU

ITEM’s Marcus Meyer and Thomas Biermeyer have won a tender from the European TradeUnion Institute for a three-year project on cross-border corporate mobility in the European Union and the European Economic Area.

The topic of cross-border company mobility has been on the EU legislator’s agenda for several decades. However, only in the last decade has EU integration accelerated in this area through the creation of European corporate legal forms, such as the European Company (Societas Europaea, SE), legislation on cross-border mergers, the Cross-Border Mergers Directive and the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

A crucial question when considering new legislation and the protection of different stakeholders in corporate mobility transactions, such as shareholders, creditors or employees, is to what extent companies use cross-border mobility mechanisms in practice, whether it be concerning cross-border seat transfers, cross-border mergers, cross-border divisions or the activities of SE/SCE companies.

Different studies and research exercises have been undertaken in this area, none of which have, however, been able to provide a full picture as to the extent of corporate mobility in the EU.

Together with a network of country experts, the project team will collect data on cross-border transactions throughout the EU/EEA Member States. The data is crucial for future evidence-based decision-making in these areas, both at the EU and national level. Biermeyer and Meyer will collaborate with ITEM and the Institute for Corporate Law, Governance and Innovation Policies (ICGI) on this project. Professors Mieke Olaerts, Stephan Rammeloo (both ICGI) and Ferdinand Grapperhaus are senior advisors to the project.