A European Private Company (, SPE) was a
legal
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...
form for a
limited liability
Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial Legal liability, liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company, or joint venture. If a company that provides limi ...
company proposed by the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
to be introduced across the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. It would have formed a
company of limited liability, similar to the English
limited company
In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...
, the Austrian or the German
GmbH
(; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland.
It is a ...
, the Dutch
BV, the Belgian
BVBA or the French
SARL. The aim of the proposal was to remove the current need for limited companies to reincorporate themselves in the corresponding legal form in all the EU member countries in which they want to trade, which represents a substantial administrative burden for
small and medium enterprises
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organizat ...
.
It was proposed that the SPE company form be introduced across the EU and
EEA area from July 2010. The SPE was finally set to arrive in 2011 and is being slowed by the current ruling parties of Germany (
CDU) to allow their own national alternative (the
mini-GmbH) to grow first. The SPE could facilitate starting new businesses and European Integration and would thus help small businesses and entrepreneurs due to manageable capital requirements not too dissimilar to the British limited company (Ltd).
However, the European Commission withdrew the proposal in 2014 due to opposition within the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
, which was concerned that it might compromise worker's
co-determination rights.
See also
*
Societas Europaea
A (, ; "European society" or "company"; plural: ; abbr. SE) is a public company registered in accordance with the European corporate law, corporate law of the European Union (EU), introduced in 2004 with the Council Regulation on the Statute ...
*
Societas cooperativa Europaea
The European Cooperative Society (SCE, for Latin ) is, in corporate law, a European cooperative List of legal entity types by country#European Economic Area (including the European Union), type of company, established in 2006 and related to the ...
References
External links
"Think Small First": A Small Business Act For Europe
European Union corporate law
Types of business entity
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