Preface

Summary

This is the second volume of the book on the European Company or Societas Europaea (SE). The first volume, containing general reports on the SE Regulation and Directive and national reports from those Member States which had already adapted their legislation, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006. The aim of this book is to present the legal framework and rules applicable to the SE throughout the European Union and the European Economic Area.

The first volume included reports from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic, Sweden and the United Kingdom as well as Iceland.

Volume two contains reports from Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia, Romania and Spain, as well as the EEA countries of Liechtenstein and Norway. In addition, a short report from Malta is included, even though this country has yet to adapt its legislation to meet the requirements of the Regulation.

Thus, taken together, volumes one and two contain reports on the legal framework in all twenty-seven EU Member States and the three EEA countries. It will permit business leaders and lawyers to better understand the rules applicable to the SE throughout the European Union and the European Economic Area, facilitate comparison and help them select a country in which to incorporate an SE in accordance with their specific project or business needs.