The European Company Statute

The European Company Statute (ECS) is one of the most important pieces of company legislation adopted so far by the European Union. Its aim is to regulate, on a voluntary basis, the internal functions of a business operating in more than two European countries at the same time. However, its implementation by companies requires the negotiation of agreements between employers and employees principally on the choice between a one-tier or two-tier system of board structure. While the ECS thereby promotes flexible solutions tailor-made to company requirements, it has failed to achieve full harmonisation of EU company law.
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the history, structure, legal basis and likely impact of the ECS, examining its evolution over some 30 years of development and its chances for integrating diverse models of corporate governance across the European Economic Area. The book explores the implications of the ECS for employee participation at various levels in the European company, with country case studies drawn from Greece, Slovenia and the UK. It also analyses certain legal issues, including taxation and the position of companies located in countries without existing systems of employee board-level participation.

Autorentext

The Editors: Michael Gold is Senior Lecturer in European Business and Employee Relations in the School of Management, Royal Holloway University of London.
Andreas Nikolopoulos is Professor of Business Administration in the Department of Business Administration at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) and the Director of its Center of Industrial Relations and Negotiations.
Norbert Kluge is Senior Researcher at the European Trade Union Institute for Research, Education and Health and Safety (ETUI-REHS) in Brussels, and Head of its SEEUROPE project.

Inhalt
Contents: Andreas Nikolopoulos/Michael Gold/Norbert Kluge: Introduction Sandra Schwimbersky/Michael Gold: New Beginning or False Dawn? The Evolution and Nature of the European Company Statute Norbert Kluge/Sigurt Vitols: The European Company: A Pilot for Integrating Shareholder Value into Stakeholder-Orientated European Societies? Frank G. Werner: The European Company and Employee Involvement: Some Initial Observations from an Industrial Relations Perspective **Aristea Koukiadaki: Reflexive Regulation of Employee Involvement at EU-Level: Implementation and the Example of the United Kingdom Theodoros Koutroukis: Employee Participation in the European Company: Implications for the Greek Industrial Relations System Eleni Patra: The Regulation of Industrial Relations in the European Company: Challenges Facing Managers and Employee Representatives Christos A. Ioannou: Implications of the European Company for Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations: New Challenges for Corporate Governance Janja Hojnik: Indirect Management and Implications for Industrial Relations of the European Company Statute: The Case of Slovenia Martin Wenz: Taxation of the European Company: Perspectives on Tax Treatment, Planning and Reform Eleni Dionisopoulou: Operation of the 'Before-and-After' Principle in the European Company Statute Lorenzo Sasso: The European Company: Does It Create Rules for the Market or a Market for the Rules?