Of key interest to companies are: new non-financial disclosure requirements and mandatory vote on remuneration policy and report; proposals on shareholder identification; voting policies; and possible recommendation on comply/explain.
The Commission's summary of key elements of the action plan is as follows:
1. Increasing the level of transparency between companies and their shareholders in order to improve corporate governance. This will include in particular:
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increasing companies' transparency as regards their board diversity and risk management policies;
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improving corporate governance reporting;
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better identification of shareholders by issuers;
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strengthening transparency rules for institutional investors on their voting and engagement policies.
2. Initiatives aimed at encouraging and facilitating long-term shareholder engagement, such as:
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more transparency on remuneration policies and individual remuneration of directors, as well as a shareholders' right to vote on remuneration policy and the remuneration report;
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better shareholders' oversight on related party transactions, i.e. dealings between the company and its directors or controlling shareholders;
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creating appropriate operational rules for proxy advisors (i.e. firms providing services to shareholders, notably voting advice), especially as regards transparency and conflicts of interests;
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clarification of the 'acting in concert' concept to make shareholder cooperation on corporate governance issues easier;
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investigating whether employee share ownership can be encouraged.
3. Initiatives in the field of company law to support European businesses and encourage their growth and competitiveness:
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further investigation on a possible initiative on the cross-border transfer of seats for companies;
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facilitating cross-border mergers;
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clear EU rules for cross-border divisions;
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follow-up of the European Private Company statute proposal (IP/08/1003) with a view to enhancing cross-border opportunities for SMEs;
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an information campaign on the European Company/European Cooperative Society Statute;
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targeted measures on groups of companies, i.e. recognition of the concept of the interest of the group and more transparency regarding the group structure.
Press release
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