A decade of experience with the European Company

A little more than a decade ago one of the most significant developments in European company law and worker participation occurred: the European Union passed a Regulation and Directive on the European Company (or Societas Europaea, hereafter SE). This legislation is a major innovation in that it created a supranational legal form with limited liability for companies. Supporters claimed that this legal form would be a significant tool for creating a more efficient and competitive European economy; critics were concerned that the SE would allow companies to avoid worker participation and would encourage regulatory competition downwards.
Despite the significance of this legislation, the level of understanding of the SE among the general public remains limited. This book is designed to summarize and analyze the first decade of experience with this legal form.
Drawing mainly on members of the SEEurope Network, a group of experts that have been observing the SE since the beginning, the book includes chapters on: SE history, legal background and use; case studies of national implementation and impact of the SE; the significance of the SE for worker involvement; and the political and legal outlook for the SE and other European company legal forms.