Jurisdiction(s):
European Union

EU Corporate Governance Developments: Shareholder Rights, Remuneration, Related Party Transactions, Sustainability Reporting (Accounting Directive/CSRD), ESG and Diversity, Digital Engagement, and UK Implementation

Published by a LexisNexis EU Law expert

Practice notes

EU corporate governance centres on the ties linking a company’s management, its board, shareholders and wider stakeholders, and thus on how the undertaking is directed and controlled.

2003 EU Corporate Governance Action Plan

In 2003, the Commission launched a formal action plan to improve corporate governance across Europe, entitled ‘Modernising Company Law and Enhancing Corporate Governance in the European Union—A Plan to Move Forward’ (the 2003 Action Plan). It drew on the 2002 report of the High Level Group of Company Law Experts, chaired by Jaap Winter (the Winter Report), tasked with devising a modern regulatory framework for company law in Europe.

The principal aims of the 2003 Action Plan were to:

bolster shareholders’ rights and protections for employees, creditors and other counterparties, while tailoring company law and corporate governance rules to different categories of company
promote business efficiency and competitiveness, with particular attention to certain cross-border issues

The 2003 Action Plan led directly to Directive 2006/46/EC, which amended earlier European accounting legislation to require a corporate governance statement in a listed company’s annual report. Further initiatives launched by the...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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