Transfer of the registered office The European Commission’s decision not to submit a proposal for a Directive

Rather unexpectedly, the process for the adoption of the Fourteenth Company Law Directive on the cross-border transfer of the registered office was recently suspended. This paper discusses the Commission's change in policy. The author examines the Community's competence to adopt a Directive on seat transfer as well as the position of the European Parliament with regard to such a directive. The Commission's reasons for not submitting a proposal for the directive are part of the elaboration. An examination of the economic benefits of the Fourteenth Directive also follows. The Cartesio case, currently pending before the European Court of Justice, is analysed in this respect. The author concludes that the motivation the Commission provides for not submitting a proposal for a fourteenth Directive is not convincing and he states that a Directive on seat transfer should be adopted after all.