Insolvency registers in the context of an interconnected business registry system for the European Union

Abstract

European Commission launched an EU-wide interconnection network of national insolvency registers by linking up databases from seven member states. More countries are expected to join at a later stage. The aim is to serve as a onestop shop for businesses, so creditors, entrepreneurs or investors can carry out the same checks as if they were investing in their home country. The connection network will also support creditors seeking to follow up insolvency cases taking place in another EU member state due to information available using one web address, i.e., the European e-Justice Portal. Access to EU-wide insolvency registers is believed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of cross-border insolvency proceedings. The article provides an overview of problems related to the publicity and absence of registers that will partially improve by the interconnection of national company registers on the EU level by the recently adopted Directive 2012/17/EU on the interconnection of central, commercial and companies’ registers. The article provides an overview of EU insolvency registers and examples of good practice as well as a comparative analysis of such registers in the EU and Lithuania.