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The videos are available here

The summary report is available here

The programme can be downloaded here.

About this workshop

The European Commission recently published a study by Ernst & Young (EY) on directors’ duties and sustainable corporate governance commissioned in 2019. Studies of this type are usually a stepping stone for policy proposals that will be put forward for consideration by EU Member States and the European Parliament. In the words of the Commission:

“the Study found a clear trend of short-termism in the focus of EU companies. It identified key drivers of this issue, ranging from the narrow interpretation of directors duties and the company’s interest with the tendency to favour the short-term maximisation of financial value, through growing pressure from investors and the lack of a strategic perspective on sustainability all the way to the limited enforcement of the directors’ duty to act in the long-term interest of company. In order to lengthen the time horizon in corporate decision-making and to promote a corporate governance that is more conducive to sustainability, the Study also identified specific objectives that EU intervention could aim to reach".

The study identifies a number of policy options for the European Commission to consider (summarised at pp. 51-60), which may deeply impact corporate law and governance across the European Union. Topics include directors’ duties, the company’s purpose, corporate disclosures, executive compensation, and engagement with stakeholders. The European Commission has conducted a public consultation on these policy options, that closed on 8 October 2020, and is expected to issue proposals at the beginning of 2021, if not earlier.


ECGI held an online roundtable to discuss the report, the academic literature, and recommendations on the topics referenced in the report.

Useful links:

Watch recordings of the workshop | Summary Report

EY Report: https://bit.ly/3jcBBUt
All Public Responses to the Consultation: https://bit.ly/3khuNGq
Submitted Response from Wolf-Georg Ringe: https://bit.ly/3jhTxgx
Submitted Response from Paul Davies and Rolf Skog (ECLE group): https://bit.ly/3dPqY95
Submitted Response from Mark Roe and Holger Spamann: https://bit.ly/2TdHRkp
Submitted Response from Alex Edmans: https://bit.ly/2TdxBIJ
Submitted Response from Steen Thomsen: https://bit.ly/3kfjuyJ and https://bit.ly/2Hb9Xui

Speakers

Lucrezia Reichlin

Professor of Economics
London Business School, Centre for Corporate Governance
Research Member

Zacharias Sautner

Professor of Sustainable Finance
University of Zurich and Swiss Finance Institute
Research Member

Marco Becht

Professor of Finance and the Goldschmidt Professor of Corporate Governance
Solvay Brussels School for Economics and Management, Université libre de Bruxelles
Fellow, Research Member

John Coffee

Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law
Columbia Law School
Fellow, Research Member

Luca Enriques

Professor of Corporate Law
University of Oxford
Fellow, Research Member

Paul Davies

Emeritus Professor of Corporate Law; Senior Research Fellow
University of Oxford
Fellow, Research Member

Jennifer Hill

Bob Baxt AO Chair in Corporate and Commercial Law
Monash University
Research Member

Theo Vermaelen

Henry Grunfeld Chair in Investment Banking, endowed by S.G. Warburg Group PLC
INSEAD
Research Member

Alex Edmans

Professor of Finance
London Business School
Fellow, Research Member

Steen Thomsen

Professor
Center for Corporate Governance, Copenhagen Business School
Research Member

Amir Licht

Professor of Law
Harry Radzyner Law School, Reichman University
Research Member

Rolf Skog

Honorary Professor of Company and Stock Exchange Law
University of Gothenburg
Research Member

Holger Spamann

Lawrence R. Grove Professor of Law
Harvard Law School
Research Member

Oren Sussman

Reader in Finance
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Research Member

Contact

Elaine McPartlan
European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
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