Corporate Restructuring Law – A second chance for Europe?

This article analyses critically the recent European Commission’s Proposal for a new directive on corporate restructuring and a "second chance" for entrepreneurs. The article addresses the proposal in the context of the Capital Markets Union project and also broader international indicators such as Ch.11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The article suggests that the proposal is Europe’s answer to Ch.11 but is a work in progress rather than a fully finished product. It is also unwise to assume that if certain reforms are enacted, certain consequences will more or less automatically follow. Events in 2016 indicated that the direction of travel with the European project is not necessarily linear and one way.