Lest we be judged by the company we keep, in Europe...

Europe needs a company law framework that is adapted to the needs of the society of today and to the evolution of the economic environment.

So asserts a press release from the European Commission, which has launched "an in-depth consultation on the future of European company law". Read the full press release here.

The issues to be investigated are:

• Objectives and scope of European company law – What should be the main objectives of European company law? Are the current rules fit for today's challenges? In which areas is there need for further evolution? What relationship between company law and corporate governance?

• Codification of European company law – should the existing company law Directives be merged in a single instrument in order to make the regulatory framework more accessible and user-friendly?

• The future of company legal forms at European level – What are the advantages and shortcomings of European company forms? Do existing company forms need to be reviewed? Should alternative instruments be explored?

• Cross-border mobility for companies – What can be done to facilitate the cross-border transfer of a company's seat? What if a company splits into different entities cross border? Should the rules on cross border mergers be reviewed?

• Groups of companies – i.e. a set of companies under a single management or source of control – Is there need for EU policy action in this field?

• Capital regime for European companies – Should the existing minimum legal capital requirements and rules on capital maintenance be modified and updated?

For more information, and to participate:

http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=companylaw2012

It all sounds very positive. (Noticeably absent from the above list is anything about taxation and the use of corporate structures to facilitate strategic reductions in tax liability (aka avoidance), and more obviously crooked conduct such as cartelisaton.)

Meanwhile, to keep up to date with the most relevant recent domestic and European court decisions on company law, and the law as it affects companies and other commercial bodies, subscribe to the Business Law Reports from ICLR.

This year, so far, we've had cases on Banking, Competition, Conflict of Laws, Contract, Copyright, Damages, Patents and Trade Marks, and in the pipeline for next month we've also got cases on Agency, Injunctions, Partnerships and Passing Off.

Bus LR: WHEN IT COMES TO LAW REPORTING... WE MEAN BUSINESS