Study on a new approach to business failure and insolvency : comparative legal analysis of the Member States' relevant provisions and practices

The Directorate-General Justice in the European Commission is working on a followup to the 2012 Communication of the Commission on "A new approach to business failure and insolvency" and the 2013 public consultation on the same topic. Against this background a study has been commissioned to provide information on restructuring mechanisms already available in all Member States, their main features, effective use, rate of success, cost to the debtor and length. INSOL Europe, the Pan-European association of insolvency professionals, has gathered from its membership a team of experts covering all 28 Member States of the European Union, to provide a comprehensive but condensed report on the restructuring mechanisms currently available in the Member States jurisdictions. Where available, information on the actual application and the rate of success has been provided as well. The study reflects the legal situation in the Member States as of October 2013. The study provides the facts collected across the 28 Member States in an Annex and the report provides an analysis of this data, together with recommendations of the experts for an early preventive restructuring mechanism. The information and views set out in this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission.