Harmonization of Company Law in the Internet Age

Abstract

With the new millennium, the harmonization of company law in Europe enters into a new era. The harmonization efforts launched in the precedent decades have been brought to an end. An impressive body of legislation has been created, laying the foundations for European-wide developments of company law. More importantly, the harmonization thus far achieved has demonstrated that company law is an area of regulation where common notions and techniques may be developed. In this paper, we give some considerations about the future developments in European company law. Should new initiatives for harmonization be made, or is it sufficient to modernize the existent framework, as has recently been done in the framework of the SLIM-project. One should take account of the changing environment in which companies operate: glbalization and technological developments are likely to substantially modify different aspects of corporate life.