PARALLEL TEXTS
Insolvenza: la Commissione raccomanda un
nuovo approccio per salvare le imprese e dare una seconda opportunità agli
imprenditori onesti
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-254_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-254_it.htm
Data documento: 12-03-2014
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Insolvency:Commission recommends new approach to rescue businesses and give honest entrepreneurs a second chance
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Insolvenza: la Commissione raccomanda un nuovo approccio per salvare le imprese e dare una seconda opportunità agli imprenditori onesti
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The European Commission has today set out a series of common principles for national insolvency procedures for businesses in financial difficulties.
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La Commissione europea ha definito oggi una serie di principi comuni per le procedure nazionali in materia d’insolvenza applicabili alle imprese in difficoltà finanziarie.
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The objective is to shift the focus away from liquidation towards encouraging viable businesses to restructure at an early stage so as to prevent insolvency.
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L’obiettivo è privilegiare, anziché la liquidazione, la ristrutturazione precoce delle imprese sane in modo da impedirne l’insolvenza.
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With around 200,000 businesses across the EU facing insolvency and 1.7 million people losing their jobs each year as a result, the Commission wants to give viable enterprises the opportunity to restructure and stay in business.
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Con circa 200 000 imprese nell’UE che ogni anno dichiarano insolvenza e 1,7 milioni di persone che di conseguenza perdono il lavoro, la Commissione desidera dare alle imprese sane la possibilità di ristrutturarsi e restare operative.
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Reforming national insolvency rules would create a "win-win" scenario:
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Una riforma delle norme nazionali in materia d’insolvenza creerebbe una situazione vincente per tutti:
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it will help keep viable firms in business and safeguard jobs and at the same time improve the environment for creditors who will be able to recover a higher proportion of their investment than if the debtor had gone bust.
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le imprese sane rimarrebbero in attività, si manterrebbero i posti di lavoro e allo stesso tempo si migliorerebbe il contesto per i creditori che, se il debitore non va in rovina, sarebbero in grado recuperare una percentuale più elevata dei loro investimenti.
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Post-bankruptcy, honest entrepreneurs should swiftly get a second chance because evidence shows that they are more successful the second time around.
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Agli imprenditori onesti va rapidamente offerta una seconda opportunità dopo il fallimento, perché i fatti dimostrano che essi hanno più successo la seconda volta.
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The Recommendation adopted today follows a public consultation last year on a European approach to insolvency (IP/13/655), and a proposal to revise existing EU rules on cross-border insolvencies, which recently received the approval of the European Parliament (MEMO/14/88).
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La raccomandazione adottata oggi fa seguito a una consultazione pubblica su un approccio europeo all’insolvenza, svoltasi lo scorso anno (IP/13/655), e a una proposta di revisione delle attuali norme UE in materia d’insolvenza transfrontaliera, approvata di recente dal Parlamento europeo (MEMO/14/88).
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"Businesses are essential to creating prosperity and jobs, but setting one up – and keeping it going – is tough, especially in today’s economic climate," said Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU's Justice Commissioner.
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“Le imprese sono indispensabili per generare prosperità e occupazione, ma crearle - e mantenerle redditizie - è difficile, specie nell’odierno clima economico”, ha dichiarato Viviane Reding, Vicepresidente e Commissaria europea per la Giustizia.
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"With a growing number of firms facing financial difficulties across Europe, we need to rethink our approach to company insolvencies.
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“Con un numero crescente di imprese che incontrano difficoltà finanziarie in tutta Europa, è necessario ripensare il nostro approccio alle insolvenze societarie.
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Henry Ford’s first automobile company went out of business after 18 months, but he went on to found one of the most successful companies in the world.
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La prima impresa automobilistica di Henry Ford cessò l’attività dopo 18 mesi, ma Ford non si arrese e successivamente fondò una società che sarebbe divenuta uno dei maggiori successi mondiali.
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We should not be stifling innovation - if at first an honest entrepreneur does not succeed, he or she should be able to try again.
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Non dobbiamo soffocare l’innovazione: se un imprenditore onesto non ha successo al primo tentativo, gli si dovrebbe dare la possibilità di riprovare.
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Our insolvency rules should facilitate a fresh start."
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Le nostre norme in materia d’insolvenza dovrebbero agevolare un nuovo inizio”.
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"We need to put in place an efficient mechanism that would allow a distinction between honest and dishonest entrepreneurs as this is fundamental to reduce the current stigma of bankruptcy" emphasized Vice-President Antonio Tajani, the EU Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry.
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“Dobbiamo creare un meccanismo efficace che consenta di distinguere tra gli imprenditori onesti e quelli disonesti, perché questo è un passo fondamentale per arginare la stigmatizzazione che caratterizza attualmente il fallimento”, ha sottolineato il Vicepresidente Antonio Tajani, Commissario europeo responsabile per l’Industria e l’imprenditoria.
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"This distinction should help eliminate discrimination against those entrepreneurs who are non-fraudulent bankrupts, so that they become eligible for any existing market support available for starting a new business.
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“Questa distinzione contribuirebbe a eliminare la discriminazione nei confronti di quegli imprenditori che hanno fatto fallimento non fraudolento, che potranno quindi beneficiare delle misure di sostegno presenti sul mercato per avviare una nuova impresa.”
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Today’s Commission Recommendation will help to provide a coherent framework for national insolvency rules, asking Member States to:
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La raccomandazione odierna della Commissione contribuirà a creare un quadro coerente per le norme nazionali in materia d’insolvenza, invitando gli Stati membri a:
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- Facilitate the restructuring of businesses in financial difficulties at an early stage, before starting formal insolvency proceedings, and without lengthy or costly procedures to help limit recourse to liquidation;
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- agevolare la ristrutturazione delle imprese in difficoltà finanziarie in una fase precoce, prima dell’avvio della procedura formale d’insolvenza, e senza procedure lunghe o costose, per aiutarle a limitare il ricorso alla liquidazione;
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- Allow debtors to restructure their business without needing to formally open court proceedings;
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- consentire ai debitori di ristrutturare l’impresa senza dover avviare un’azione formale in giudizio;
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- Give businesses in financial difficulties the possibility to request a temporary stay of up to four months (renewable up to a maximum of 12 months) to adopt a restructuring plan before creditors can launch enforcement proceedings against them;
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- dare alle imprese in difficoltà finanziarie la possibilità di chiedere la sospensione temporanea fino a quattro mesi (rinnovabile fino a un massimo di 12 mesi) per adottare un piano di ristrutturazione prima che i creditori possano avviare misure di esecuzione nei loro confronti;
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- Facilitate the process for adopting a restructuring plan, keeping in mind the interests of both debtors and creditors, with a view to increasing the chances of rescuing viable businesses;
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- facilitare il processo di adozione di un piano di ristrutturazione, tenendo presenti gli interessi di debitori e creditori, al fine di accrescere le possibilità di salvare le imprese sane;
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- Reduce the negative effects of a bankruptcy on entrepreneurs’ future chances of launching a business, in particular by discharging their debts within a maximum of three years.
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- ridurre gli effetti negativi del fallimento sulle possibilità future degli imprenditori di avviare un’impresa, in particolare prevedendo la liberazione dai debiti entro tre anni al massimo.
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Next steps:
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Prossime tappe:
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The Recommendation asks Member States to put in place appropriate measures within one year.
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la raccomandazione invita gli Stati membri ad attuare misure appropriate entro un anno.
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18 months after adoption of the Recommendation the Commission will assess the state of play, based on the yearly reports of the Member States to evaluate whether further measures to strengthen the horizontal approach on insolvency are needed.
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18 mesi dopo l’adozione della raccomandazione, la Commissione valuterà la situazione in base alle relazioni annuali degli Stati membri e deciderà se siano necessarie ulteriori misure per rafforzare l’approccio orizzontale in materia d’insolvenza.
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Background
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Contesto
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Insolvencies are a fact of life in a dynamic, modern economy.
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Le situazioni d’insolvenza sono eventi fisiologici in un’economia dinamica e moderna.
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Around half of enterprises survive less than five years, and around 200 000 firms become insolvent in the EU each year. This means that some 600 companies in Europe go bust every day.
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Circa la metà delle imprese ha una durata di vita inferiore a cinque anni, mentre nell’Unione sono circa 200 000 le imprese che ogni anno dichiarano insolvenza, ovvero quasi 600 società al giorno.
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A quarter of these insolvencies have a cross-border element.And they are on the rise – the number of insolvencies has doubled since the beginning of the crisis and the trend is set to continue in 2014.
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Un quarto di queste insolvenze presenta un elemento transfrontaliero e il loro numero è in aumento - essendo addirittura raddoppiato dall’inizio della crisi - una tendenza destinata a continuare anche nel 2014.
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Furthermore, evidence suggests that failed entrepreneurs learn from their mistakes and are generally more successful the second time around.
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Inoltre, i fatti dimostrano che gli imprenditori che falliscono imparano dai loro errori e hanno in genere più successo la seconda volta:
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Up to 18% of all entrepreneurs who go on to be successful have failed in their first venture.
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il 18% di quanti proseguono l’attività con successo hanno fallito al loro primo tentativo.
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It is therefore essential to have modern laws and efficient procedures in place to help businesses, which have sufficient economic substance, overcome financial difficulties and entrepreneurs get a "second chance".
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È pertanto cruciale disporre di leggi moderne e procedure efficienti per aiutare le imprese che hanno basi economiche sufficientemente robuste a superare le difficoltà finanziarie e a ottenere una “seconda opportunità”.
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Yet, insolvency frameworks in many EU countries currently channel viable enterprises in financial difficulties towards liquidation, rather than restructuring.
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I quadri in materia d’insolvenza in molti paesi dell’UE continuano ad incanalare le imprese sane che si trovano in difficoltà finanziarie verso la liquidazione piuttosto che verso la ristrutturazione.
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They also present obstacles to giving honest entrepreneurs a second chance after insolvency by establishing long discharge periods.
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Inoltre ostacolano la possibilità per gli imprenditori onesti di ottenere una seconda opportunità dopo l’insolvenza, in quanto prevedono termini di riabilitazione lunghi.
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Experience shows that the earlier companies in difficulties are able to restructure, the higher their chance of succeeding.
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L’esperienza mostra che quanto prima le imprese in difficoltà sono in grado di ristrutturarsi, tanto maggiori sono le probabilità di successo.
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But early restructuring (before formal insolvency proceedings are started) is not possible in several countries (for example Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Denmark) and, where it is an option, procedures can be inefficient or costly, reducing incentives for companies to keep afloat.
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Ma una ristrutturazione precoce (prima dell’avvio di una procedura formale d’insolvenza) non è possibile in vari paesi (ad esempio in Bulgaria, Ungheria, Repubblica ceca, Lituania, Slovacchia e Danimarca) e, laddove è possibile, le procedure possono risultare inefficienti o costose, riducendo gli incentivi per le imprese a resistere.
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Finally, in some countries it can take many years before honest entrepreneurs who have gone bankrupt can be discharged of their old debts and try another business idea (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Italy Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Romania).
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Infine, in alcuni paesi ci vogliono molti anni prima che gli imprenditori onesti che sono falliti siano ammessi al beneficio della liberazione dai debiti e possano avviare una nuova attività (Austria, Belgio, Estonia, Grecia, Italia, Lettonia, Lituania, Lussemburgo, Malta, Croazia, Polonia, Portogallo e Romania).
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When an honest entrepreneur goes bankrupt, a shortened discharge period in relation to debts would make sure bankruptcy does not end up as a "life-sentence" should a business go bust.
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Se un imprenditore onesto fa fallimento, un termine ridotto di riabilitazione assicurerebbe che il fallimento non si traduca in una “sentenza di condanna a vita”.
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The divergence between Member States laws has an impact on the recovery rates of cross-border creditors, on cross-border investment decisions, and the restructuring of groups of companies.
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La divergenza esistente tra le legislazioni degli Stati membri ha un impatto sui tassi di recupero dei crediti transfrontalieri, sulle decisioni d’investimento a livello transfrontaliero e sulla ristrutturazione di gruppi di società.
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A more coherent approach at EU level would not only improve returns to creditors and the flow of cross-border investment, but also have a positive impact in terms of entrepreneurship, employment and innovation.
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Un approccio più coerente a livello dell’UE non solo migliorerebbe le restituzioni ai creditori e il flusso degli investimenti transfrontalieri, ma avrebbe anche un impatto positivo in termini d’imprenditorialità, occupazione e innovazione.
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The existing EU Framework in the area of insolvency
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L’attuale quadro dell’UE in materia d’insolvenza
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European rules on cross-border insolvency are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings (the “Insolvency Regulation”), which has applied since 31 May 2002.
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Il diritto europeo in materia d’insolvenza transfrontaliera è costituito dal regolamento (CE) n* 1346/2000 relativo alle procedure d’insolvenza (il “regolamento sulle procedure d’insolvenza”), in vigore dal 31 maggio 2002.
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The Regulation contains rules on jurisdiction, recognition and applicable law and provides for the coordination of insolvency proceedings opened in several Member States.
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Il regolamento contiene norme in materia di competenza giurisdizionale, riconoscimento delle decisioni e legge applicabile, e stabilisce le modalità di coordinamento tra le procedure pendenti in più Stati membri.
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The Regulation applies when the debtor has an establishment or creditors in another Member State than his own.
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Esso si applica ove il debitore abbia beni o creditori in uno Stato membro diverso dal proprio.
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In December 2012, the European Commission presented a package of measures to modernise these insolvency rules (IP/12/1354, MEMO/12/969
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Nel dicembre 2012 la Commissione ha presentato un pacchetto di misure per modernizzare tali norme sull’insolvenza (IP/12/1354, MEMO/12/969).
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On 5 February 2014, the European Parliament voted in favour of the Commission’s proposal, which now has to be agreed by Ministers in the Council in order to become law (MEMO/14/88).
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Il 5 febbraio 2014, il Parlamento europeo ha votato a favore della proposta della Commissione, che deve ora essere approvata dai ministri in sede di Consiglio perché diventi legge(MEMO/14/88).
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In parallel, the Commission launched a public consultation on a European approach to business failure and insolvency in July 2013 (IP/13/655), seeking views on key issues such as the time required to discharge a debt, the conditions for opening proceedings, the rules for restructuring plans and the measures needed for SMEs.
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Parallelamente, nel luglio 2013, la Commissione ha lanciato una consultazione pubblica su un nuovo approccio europeo al fallimento delle imprese e all’insolvenza (IP/13/655), raccogliendo opinioni su questioni cruciali quali il tempo necessario per la liberazione dai debiti, le condizioni per l’apertura della procedura d’insolvenza, le norme sui piani di ristrutturazione e le misure necessarie per le PMI.
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Several EU Member States have received recommendations in the context of the European Semester – the EU’s cycle of economic policy coordination – inviting them to reform several aspects of their insolvency systems (this is the case for Spain, Latvia, Malta and Slovenia).
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Diversi Stati membri sono stati oggetto di raccomandazioni nel contesto del semestre europeo — il ciclo di coordinamento delle politiche economiche dell’Unione — e sono stati invitati a riformare diversi aspetti delle rispettive norme in materia d’insolvenza (Spagna, Lettonia, Malta e Slovenia).
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Several others are currently in the process of reforming their laws to improve the rescue possibilities for companies in financial difficulty, to reduce discharge periods for entrepreneurs or, more generally, to improve the performance of their insolvency frameworks (this is the case for the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Latvia, Cyprus, Estonia, Croatia and the United Kingdom). |
Vari altri Stati membri sono attualmente impegnati nel processo di riforma delle loro legislazioni al fine di incrementare le possibilità di salvataggio delle imprese in difficoltà finanziaria, ridurre i termini di riabilitazione degli imprenditori o, più in generale, migliorare i loro quadri in materia d’insolvenza (Paesi Bassi, Lussemburgo, Polonia, Lettonia, Cipro, Estonia, Croazia e Regno Unito). |
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
•
Insolvency: Commission recommends new approach to rescue businesses and
give honest entrepreneurs a second chance
The European Commission has today set out a series of common principles for
national insolvency procedures for businesses in financial difficulties.
The objective is to shift the focus away from liquidation towards encouraging
viable businesses to restructure at an early stage so as to prevent insolvency.
With around 200,000 businesses across the EU facing insolvency and 1.7
million people losing their jobs each year as a result, the Commission wants to
give viable enterprises the opportunity to restructure and stay in business.
Reforming national insolvency rules would create a "win-win" scenario:
it will help keep viable firms in business and safeguard jobs and at the same
time improve the environment for creditors who will be able to recover a higher
proportion of their investment than if the debtor had gone bust.
Post-bankruptcy, honest entrepreneurs should swiftly get a second chance
because evidence shows that they are more successful the second time around.
The Recommendation adopted today follows a public consultation last year on a
European approach to insolvency (IP/13/655), and a proposal to revise existing
EU rules on cross-border insolvencies, which recently received the approval of
the European Parliament (MEMO/14/88).
"Businesses are essential to creating prosperity and jobs, but setting one up
– and keeping it going – is tough, especially in today’s economic climate," said
Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU's Justice Commissioner.
"With a growing number of firms facing financial difficulties across Europe,
we need to rethink our approach to company insolvencies.
Henry Ford’s first automobile company went out of business after 18 months,
but he went on to found one of the most successful companies in the world.
We should not be stifling innovation - if at first an honest entrepreneur
does not succeed, he or she should be able to try again.
Our insolvency rules should facilitate a fresh start."
"We need to put in place an efficient mechanism that would allow a
distinction between honest and dishonest entrepreneurs as this is fundamental to
reduce the current stigma of bankruptcy" emphasized Vice-President Antonio
Tajani, the EU Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry.
"This distinction should help eliminate discrimination against those
entrepreneurs who are non-fraudulent bankrupts, so that they become eligible for
any existing market support available for starting a new business.
Today’s Commission Recommendation will help to provide a coherent framework
for national insolvency rules, asking Member States to:
- Facilitate the restructuring of businesses in financial difficulties at an
early stage, before starting formal insolvency proceedings, and without lengthy
or costly procedures to help limit recourse to liquidation;
- Allow debtors to restructure their business without needing to formally
open court proceedings;
- Give businesses in financial difficulties the possibility to request a
temporary stay of up to four months (renewable up to a maximum of 12 months) to
adopt a restructuring plan before creditors can launch enforcement proceedings
against them;
- Facilitate the process for adopting a restructuring plan, keeping in mind
the interests of both debtors and creditors, with a view to increasing the
chances of rescuing viable businesses;
- Reduce the negative effects of a bankruptcy on entrepreneurs’ future
chances of launching a business, in particular by discharging their debts within
a maximum of three years.
Next steps:
The Recommendation asks Member States to put in place appropriate measures
within one year.
18 months after adoption of the Recommendation the Commission will assess the
state of play, based on the yearly reports of the Member States to evaluate
whether further measures to strengthen the horizontal approach on insolvency are
needed.
Background
Insolvencies are a fact of life in a dynamic, modern economy.
Around half of enterprises survive less than five years, and around 200 000
firms become insolvent in the EU each year. This means that some 600 companies
in Europe go bust every day.
A quarter of these insolvencies have a cross-border element.And they are on
the rise – the number of insolvencies has doubled since the beginning of the
crisis and the trend is set to continue in 2014.
Furthermore, evidence suggests that failed entrepreneurs learn from their
mistakes and are generally more successful the second time around.
Up to 18% of all entrepreneurs who go on to be successful have failed in
their first venture.
It is therefore essential to have modern laws and efficient procedures in
place to help businesses, which have sufficient economic substance, overcome
financial difficulties and entrepreneurs get a "second chance".
Yet, insolvency frameworks in many EU countries currently channel viable
enterprises in financial difficulties towards liquidation, rather than
restructuring.
They also present obstacles to giving honest entrepreneurs a second chance
after insolvency by establishing long discharge periods.
Experience shows that the earlier companies in difficulties are able to
restructure, the higher their chance of succeeding.
But early restructuring (before formal insolvency proceedings are started) is
not possible in several countries (for example Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech
Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Denmark) and, where it is an option, procedures
can be inefficient or costly, reducing incentives for companies to keep afloat.
Finally, in some countries it can take many years before honest entrepreneurs
who have gone bankrupt can be discharged of their old debts and try another
business idea (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Italy Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Romania).
When an honest entrepreneur goes bankrupt, a shortened discharge period in
relation to debts would make sure bankruptcy does not end up as a
"life-sentence" should a business go bust.
The divergence between Member States laws has an impact on the recovery rates
of cross-border creditors, on cross-border investment decisions, and the
restructuring of groups of companies.
A more coherent approach at EU level would not only improve returns to
creditors and the flow of cross-border investment, but also have a positive
impact in terms of entrepreneurship, employment and innovation.
The existing EU Framework in the area of insolvency
European rules on cross-border insolvency are laid down in Regulation (EC) No
1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings (the "Insolvency Regulation"), which has
applied since 31 May 2002.
The Regulation contains rules on jurisdiction, recognition and applicable law
and provides for the coordination of insolvency proceedings opened in several
Member States.
The Regulation applies when the debtor has an establishment or creditors in
another Member State than his own.
In December 2012, the European Commission presented a package of measures to
modernise these insolvency rules (IP/12/1354, MEMO/12/969
On 5 February 2014, the European Parliament voted in favour of the
Commission’s proposal, which now has to be agreed by Ministers in the Council in
order to become law (MEMO/14/88).
In parallel, the Commission launched a public consultation on a European
approach to business failure and insolvency in July 2013 (IP/13/655), seeking
views on key issues such as the time required to discharge a debt, the
conditions for opening proceedings, the rules for restructuring plans and the
measures needed for SMEs.
Several EU Member States have received recommendations in the context of the
European Semester – the EU’s cycle of economic policy coordination – inviting
them to reform several aspects of their insolvency systems (this is the case for
Spain, Latvia, Malta and Slovenia).
Several others are currently in the process of reforming their laws to
improve the rescue possibilities for companies in financial difficulty, to
reduce discharge periods for entrepreneurs or, more generally, to improve the
performance of their insolvency frameworks (this is the case for the
Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Latvia, Cyprus, Estonia, Croatia and the United
Kingdom).
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