The future of harmonisation of directors' duties in the European Union: The Preventive Restructuring Directive and group insolvencies

The European Union (EU) Preventive Restructuring Directive seeks to harmonise directors' duties with the goals of promoting early responses financial distress and rescuing viable enterprises. However, due persistent differences in substantive laws traditions EU Member States – most notably concerning recognition group interest company insolvency law, general imprecise wording its insufficient attention insolvency, additional steps need be taken achieve these important goals. (i) This article maps debate on interest, observes emergence bank resolution points out divergent approaches acceptance at national level. (ii) It examines recent work recommendations UNCITRAL obligations period approaching enterprise groups, (iii) critically analyses approach Directive. (iv) Finally, it discusses alternative normative framework for further harmonisation insolvency-related EU. suggests that instead focusing interests all stakeholders, is far better encourage reasonable preserve maximise value debtor company. could include consideration wider environment which should not make debtor's creditors worse off (group-mindful “no off” standard). also endorses adoption guidelines tools supporting decision-making process a crisis situation, creating ex-ante certainty discouraging opportunistic behaviour.