6 - Belgium

Summary

Introduction

1. The Regulation was implemented under Belgian law by a royal decree of 1 September 2004 (the ‘Royal Decree’) pursuant to powers vested in the King by the Act of 22 December 2003.

As provided by the Directive, Belgium granted the power to transpose theDirective to representatives of employers and employees. The result is Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) No. 84 of the National Labour Council (‘CBA No. 84’), which transposed the Directive only in part. Those provisions which have yet to be transposed into national law shall form the subject of a statutory initiative shortly. The Royal Decree and CBA No. 84 entered into force on 8 October 2004.

Reasons to opt for an SE

2. The SE has certain advantages over national corporate forms in Belgium. Its main advantage is its European character. No other limited-liability legal entity presents the same European dimension. European corporate groups can express their European identity by choosing to take the form of an SE. The SE may thus turn out to be a useful marketing tool, particularly for listed companies.

Moreover, the registered office of an SE can be transferred to another Member State without a loss of legal personality and, as of 1 January 2006, without adverse tax consequences. If a company that is not an SE decides, for any reason whatsoever, to transfer its headquarters from one Member State to another, in most cases it will have to face the burdensome procedure of dissolution and reincorporation.