EU Harmonisation Directive 2019/1023: implementation status

Austria

European restructuring proceedings
(Europäisches Restrukturierungsverfahren)

Regular restructuring proceedings

Simplified restructuring proceedings

Yes: if (i) the majority of classes (including secured creditors or
the  majority of the 'in the money' classes) voted in the plan's favour and (ii) dissenting creditor classes are not treated worse than same ranking and treated better than subordinated classes

Yes: European restructuring proceedings

No: regular proceedings and simplified proceedings

Unclear: confidential restructuring proceedings

Croatia

Pre-insolvency proceeding (predstecajni postupak)

Yes: if (i) the creditors are not worse off than if there is no plan, (ii) they adequately participate in the economic benefits with all parties, (iii) at least one of the classes accepting the plan is not the class of shareholders

No

Cyprus

Examinership

Yes, if approved by the majority of the voting classes of affected parties, provided that at least one class consists of secured creditors, or is senior to the ordinary unsecured creditors class (or, at least one of the voting classes of affected parties)

Yes it will be listed

Czech Republic

Preventive restructuring

Yes, if: it finds no other reason for not doing so, if the restructuring plan has been accepted by the majority of classes of affected parties of unrelated persons and if at the same time: (i) at least one is a class of the affected party with a secured claim, or (ii) at least one is a class of affected parties whose claims would be satisfied before any unsecured creditors' unsubordinated claims in any insolvency proceedings.

Yes if: it finds no other reason for not doing so, if the restructuring plan has been accepted by at least one class of affected parties, with the exception of: (i) classes of shareholders of the entrepreneur (ii) classes of related persons (iii) classes of affected parties (reasonably assuming that they would not receive any performance/retain  property rights if the entrepreneur's bankruptcy was resolved by bankruptcy), or (iv) classes of affected parties who, according to the restructuring plan, would not receive any payment/would retain any property rights when valuing the entrepreneur's business plant, assuming the plant's operation is maintained

Not yet clear

Denmark

Preventive restructuring procedure (forebyggende rekonstruktion)

Yes, if the majority of classes vote in favour of the restructuring plan. However, dissenting creditors cannot be treated worse than similar ranked creditors

No; The EU Recast Regulation is not applicable in Denmark

Finland

Early proceedings (varhainen saneerausmenettely) and regular restructuring proceedings (perusmuotoinen saneerausmenettely)

Yes at the request of the person who prepared the draft, the administrator/debtor, provided that: (i) there is no barrier to approval; (ii) a majority has voted for the programme's approval in at least one creditor group and the claims of all of the creditors who have voted for approval represent at least one fifth of known claims which are to be considered; (iii) no creditor is to receive a benefit of a greater value than the amount of their claim; (iv) if creditors are to receive payment in excess of the minimum level required for the creditor group in question under this Act, this benefit is allocated among the groups of creditors in a reasonable manner; and (v) creditors with lower priority claims than the group of creditors voting against approval, other than one composed of secured creditors, are not to receive payment

Yes, restructuring proceedings appear in Annex A ('yrityssaneeraus'). This is an umbrella term that includes both the early and regular proceedings

France

Updates to: safeguard (sauvegarde), accelerated safeguard (sauvegarde accélérée) and judicial reorganisation (redressement judiciaire)

Yes; if the majority of classes have not voted in favour of it, provided: a majority of classes agree (including at least one class of creditors holding securities or any other class which ranks higher than unsecured creditors) or, failing that, by a class which would not be entitled to any payment in the event of a judicial liquidation

Yes: Safeguard proceedings and accelerated safeguard opened after a conciliation.

No: Conciliation proceedings

Germany

Restructuring plan (under 'StaRUG')

Yes if: (i) the majority of classes vote in favour of the Restructuring Plan (in each case with the required majority);  (ii) members of the dissenting class can be expected to be in a position no worse than without the Plan; and (iii) members of the dissenting class receive an adequate share in value created by the Plan

Yes: publicly heard StaRUG schemes ('die öffentliche Restrukturierungssache') appear in Annex A of the EU Insolvency Regulation.

No: Private StaRUG schemes

Greece

The rehabilitation procedure

Yes if: (i) the agreement has been approved by creditors representing more than 60% in value of the debtor's total claims and more than 50% in value of secured claims (thereby only allowing the unsecured creditor class to be crammed down) (ii) dissenting individual creditors are treated more favourably than each creditor with lower priority claims, according to the ranking of insolvency liquidation (similar to the relative priority rule but applies at individual creditor level cf to the creditor class as a whole) (iii) no category of affected creditors can receive more than the value of their claim against the debtor under the rehabilitation agreement and (iv) the general ratification conditions are satisfied

Yes already included

Hungary

Restructuring proceedings (szerkezetátalakítási eljárás) and public restructuring proceedings (nyilvános szerkezetátalakítási eljárás)

No

Yes: Nyilvános szerkezetátalakítási eljárás (public restructuring proceedings) will be listed in Annex A

No: szerkezetátalakítási eljárás (ie non-public restructuring proceedings) will not be listed 

Lithuania

Restructuring proceedings under the Law on Insolvencies of Legal Persons (JANI)

Yes, partially:

(i) (Holdout) creditors can be crammed down

(ii) shareholders can be crammed down with court approval if certain conditions are met, including a qualified voting majority

(iii) additionally, where the plan does not get mandatory support in either statutory group. However, since JANI does not allow group formation outside of the two statutory groups, particular creditors cannot be crammed down by forming specific groups for them (eg suppliers, employees)

Yes: both restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings

The Netherlands

Wet Homologatie Onderhandse Akkoorden (WHOA)

Yes

Yes: public WHOA restructuring procedure.

No: private WHOA restructuring procedure

Portugal

Special Revitalisation Proceedings(Processo Especial de Revitalização)

Yes; holdout creditors may be crammed down, either as a class or as individual creditors

Yes

Romania

Restructuring Agreement and the composition agreement (preventive concordat) proceeding.

Yes; If, in an agreement proceeding or preventive composition, is approved by: (i) a majority of the categories of claims, one of which must be a category of claims benefiting from preferential causes of action or any category of claims other than the unsecured claims; or (ii) at least one category of claims with voting rights other than a category of claims which would not receive any payment if bankruptcy occurred ; (iii) voted by at least 30% of the total claims affected, the judge may approve the restructuring plan

Yes, Restructuring Agreement will be listed; Concordatul preventiv is already listed

Slovakia

Preventive restructuring proceedings

Yes

Yes, it will likely be included

The UK

Part 26A restructuring plan

Yes

No