Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-06-Speech-1-297"
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"en.20100906.21.1-297"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the importance of business registers, trade registers or commercial registers – as they are also known – is evident from the large number of directives on companies that have dealt with this issue, the earliest dating back to 1968, and which have already brought about very worthwhile improvements.
A major change took place in 2003, when it was stipulated that such registers must be kept electronically with a view to bringing about substantial improvements in cross-border access. The registers are still kept at a national level, and only information that is permitted nationally to be entered in the register and for which there is competence at national level is recorded. We have no plans to change that.
There is no real need to emphasise the fact that cross-border access to register entries is important and could be improved; that much is obvious. The problems lie in two areas. Firstly, cross-border access for citizens needs to be improved, and that means citizens in its widest sense; in other words, anyone who is interested – whether he or she is a lawyer, a notary, a tax adviser, a trade union member, a worker, or anyone else.
The second issue is that interoperability – cooperation between the registers – needs to be improved. This applies, in particular, to cases in which an enterprise has its headquarters registered in one country and a branch registered in another country. In these cases, it can often take too long for entries relating to the headquarters to be copied into the register of the country in which it has its branch, and moreover, this is often not done quite correctly. This process might perhaps be automated.
The Commission’s efforts are to be welcomed and supported without qualification. Costs will be cut, time will be saved and the internal market will be advanced further. There are a few points on which I should like to comment. Firstly, information from a business register is not necessarily comparable with information that is otherwise accessible. It has, after all, a legal status, and this legal status varies from one Member State to another. This must be pointed out to users, so that they do not assume that register entries in another Member State can be used in the same way as those in their own country.
Nevertheless, it would be possible to simplify the formats used into standard formats, to establish a uniform access portal, and to improve the terminology used so that entries can be made available in several or even all the official languages. There have already been a number of such initiatives, the European Business Register (EBR) and Business Register Interoperability Throughout Europe (BRITE) to name but two; and there is general agreement among Members that cooperation in this area should be taken further. The drawbacks with these registers are firstly, that entries are made only on a voluntary basis, secondly, that not all Member States participate in them, and thirdly, that they are, in part, still at the trial stage.
Neither I nor Parliament has the technical expertise required, nor is it our job to have it. The vast majority of Members agree that this project should be advanced within the framework of these initiatives. This can only be truly successful if everyone takes part in it. We do not want to push for legislative proposals on this just yet. If everyone takes part on a voluntary basis and it works, then there will be no need for legislation. The aim in any case is for the whole thing to be advanced when this is technically and objectively appropriate, and for all the Member States to participate.
I would like to close by thanking those who worked on this with me and the committees that were consulted. I assume that this project will receive broad support and be voted through."@en1
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