This book is a contribution to the emerging discipline of comparative European company law. The new discipline remains rooted in the company laws of the different Member States. European Union directives provide a framework and more and more detail. Free movement is important: the directives and regulations adopted by the EU gives effect to the right of establishment and the free movement of capital. The further internationalisation of capital markets is another important factor. Academic scholarship has provided insights that contribute to the reform process. In parallel, the transformation to a market economic system in former communist countries has provided a rich field for scholarship. Knowledge about other Member States' company laws has a central role here. Knowledge may be necessary in order to understand provisions of an EU directive, or the functioning of a feature of one's own or another country's company law.

New features of company law in the EU include incorporation in one Member State under another Member State's laws, cross border mergers and new EU company forms. EU law and more than one Member State jurisdiction are involved at the same time. Also here, knowledge of the laws of the other Member States is required, both in policy making, law reform, corporate planning and transactions.