Company mobility within the EU, fifty years on From a non-issue to a hot topic

1 This conference was organized by the Molengraaff Institute for Private Law of Utrecht University under the aegis of the Centre for European Company Law, an academic partnership between the universities of Leiden, Utrecht and Maastricht, which is connected with the Ius Commune academic network. 2 See William W. Bratton, Joseph A. McCahery & Erik P.M. Vermeulen, How Does Corporate Mobility Affect Lawmaking? A Comparative Analysis, Amsterdam Center for Law & Economics Working Paper no. 2008-01, p. 6, available online at www.ssrn.com 3 Council Regulation (EC) no. 2157/2001 on the Statute for a European Company (SE), OJ L-294, p. 1, and Council Directive 2001/86/EC of 8 October 2001 supplementing the Statute for the European company with regard to the involvement of employees. 4 (Tenth) Council Directive 2005/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on cross-border mergers of limited liability companies, OJ L-310, p. 1. 5 ECJ 9 March 1999, Case C-212/97, Centros Ltd. v. Erhvervs-og Selskabsstyrelsen. 6 ECJ 5 November 2002, Case C-208/00, Uberseering BV v. Nordic Construction Co Baumanagement GmbH. 7 ECJ 30 September 2003, Case C-167/01, Kamer van Koophandel en Fabrieken voor Amsterdam v. Inspire Art Ltd.