The European Commission is currently reflecting on possible ways to:
- Enhance access at EU level to information about companies in the national business registers,
- Facilitate the expansion to other Member States’ markets and reduce administrative burden by making it possible for companies to directly (without extra formalities) use company information from their national business registers when, for example, setting up subsidiaries or branches, or dealing with authorities or courts in other Member States,
- Further digitalise the existing EU company law procedures.
This SME panel consultation is linked to the preparatory work on a new legislative initiative on “Upgrading digital company law”, planned for adoption by the Commission in early 2023.
Companies, and in particular small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), are one of the main stakeholders of this initiative. That is why it is important for the Commission services to gather information about SMEs’ needs and about obstacles they encounter in the areas covered by this initiative. The questions focus on situations when SMEs:
- look for information about business partners in another Member State,
- want to open a branch or subsidiary in another Member State or
- need to provide information about their company to administrative authorities or courts in another Member State.
The questionnaire does not focus on specific sectors but is targeted at SMEs, which already have or plan to have cross-border experiences, such as e.g. business partners, an establishment/place of business, or contacts with authorities or courts in another Member State.
The questionnaire is available through EU Survey on the following link and the deadline for responding is 3 June 2022: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/SME-panel-Company-Law-2022
