European Corporate and Household Insolvency Workshop

The Legal Department of the IMF organized, in cooperation with the European Department, the 12th workshop on European Corporate and Household Insolvency (June 20-22, 2023). The workshop brought together insolvency policy makers and specialized officials from 15 European countries, and also included the participation of officials from the European Commission (EC) and the World Bank. 

This workshop offers a unique opportunity for the open exchange of experiences and views over current issues affecting insolvency regimes in Europe. The workshop started with an overview of the economic situation in Europe, where inflationary pressures, disruptions in trade due to the war in Ukraine, and changes in monetary policy are increasing debt distress among enterprises and particularly among households. With this economic backdrop, the workshop included an open debate on crisis measures adopted during the pandemic, and on the actions that European countries could take to improve their crisis preparedness. 

A key part of the workshop was devoted to the discussion of EU initiatives in insolvency. The EC gave a presentation on the implementation of the EU Restructuring Directive and on the new proposal for an Insolvency Directive. This was followed by an open debate that focused on specific areas of the new proposal, such as pre-packs or the special liquidation procedure for microenterprises. 

The range of topics covered at the workshop was broad, with sessions on insolvency prevention, the legal aspects of markets for distressed assets, transparency and data in insolvency systems, personal insolvency and mortgages, the institutional framework of insolvency regimes, and safeguards in the adoption of restructuring plans. The discussion of a hypothetical case featuring a complex restructuring situation offered the opportunity of looking at multiple aspects of current practice in European countries. 

The workshop is based on the active contributions of all participants, who become members of a community of practice that shares critical insights on insolvency law. The feedback received was extremely positive and highlighted the quality of the background materials and the usefulness of the workshop for the professional activity of participants. 

José M. Garrido, Senior Counsel, IMF