Colin Haslam, is a Professor of Accounting/Finance at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London. As a Fellow of the European Law Institute (ELI) and member of the Business and Financial Law (SIG ) based in Vienna he has been involved in a joint project which has resulted in a green paper being approved by the ELI: The Current Challenges for EU Company and Financial Law and Regulation.
Professor Haslam notes that this green paper is about how limited liability established a social license enshrined in company and financial law and regulations aimed to balance the granted privileges of limited liability and share transferability with the corporate social contribution to economic development and employment.
Recent transformations driven by shareholder value and financialisation have been challenging this balance of interests between stakeholders (including employees and shareholders) and society. But the EU institutional framework may respond to these challenges by reaffirming the centrality of the enterprise as a going concern.
A copy of the green paper titled: 'The Current Challenges for EU Company and Financial Law and Regulation' can be found here.