O NOUĂ PROPUNERE DE DIRECTIVĂ UE ŞI O NOUĂ PROVOCARE ÎN VEDEREA ARMONIZĂRII NORMELOR DE DREPT ÎN MATERIA INSOLVENŢEI. CREAREA UNUI REGIM SPECIAL DE INSOLVENŢĂ PENTRU IMM-URI – ELEMENT „CHEIE” PE AGENDA UE ŞI UNCITRAL
A NEW PROPOSAL FOR AN EU DIRECTIVE AND A NEW CHALLENGE TO HARMONISE INSOLVENCY LAW RULES. CREATING A SPECIAL INSOLVENCY REGIME FOR SMES - A "KEY" ITEM ON THE EU AND UNCITRAL AGENDA

Summary/Abstract: Recent years have been marked by successive and partially interconnected shocks, creating an unprecedented economic and geopolitical context. The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have "shaken" the global economy, generated risks and socio-economic vulnerabilities and disrupted universal value chains, outlining a "picture" full of challenges, given the "slowdown" of economic growth from almost 6% in 2021 to approx. 4% in 2022. Gobal inflation, but also green and digital transitions further increase the need to identify effective tools that allow the rapid reorganization of businesses and above all stimulate global economic "renewal". Recent insolvency statistics confirm the challenges companies face in trying to survive in a changing economic landscape. Through this research we aim to outline new trends and visions in the field of insolvency, all the more so as the field of insolvency seems to be "thirsty" for reform, enjoying an accelerated dynamism in internationalization, harmonization and unification. Moreover, on 07 December 2022, the European Commission proposed a new directive on the harmonization of certain aspects of the insolvency law rules, a directive that creates a new "safety net" through coherent measures capable of mitigating the socio-economic consequences at the intersection of contemporary crises, representing, at the same time, a new “brick” to the consolidation and harmonization of the insolvency field. We will stop at one of the key dimensions of this directive, namely the creation of a special insolvency legal regime for SMEs, a dimension already outlined internationally by UNCITRAL. In essence, the central objective of our research is to raise awareness of the need to respond concretely to the insolvency needs of SMEs, in the context in which the pressure on them arises from the gradual withdrawal of COVID-related policy support, the increase in energy costs and interest rates, together with the restructuring needs induced by the green and digital transition. The SMEs sector is crucial for macroeconomic stability and inclusive growth. In order to flatten the insolvency curve, it is essential that in the future SMEs can benefit from a simplified insolvency regime, not just pre-insolvency, especially a simplified judicial reorganisation procedure. In reality, this represents an urgent and absolutely necessary measure, promoted at international level by UNCITRAL since 2019, recently ordered by the USA (2020) or Colombia, and taken over here by the EU, to be implemented through a legal instrument of the hard-law type. In this context, restructuring and cross-border insolvency must be re-evaluated in relation to European and international initiatives in the field, Romania being able to become a reference point on the map of the European Union, by realizing that the regulatory differences of the insolvency regime constitute a deterrent to cross-border expansion and investment.

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