News

   The European Commission has launched a public consultation to assess the level of demand for the creation of a European Foundation Statute. The EFC welcomes this public consultation, together with the publication of a Feasibility Study that explains the potential advantages and impacts of allowing foundations to be established and recognised at the level of the European Union.

EFC members and partners are being encouraged to submit their responses to the consultation before the deadline of 15 May.



The Feasibility Study sets out very clearly the potential benefits of a European Foundation Statute in terms of reducing or eliminating unnecessary financial costs and administrative burdens, thereby making life easier for foundations that wish to pursue their activities across different countries within the EU. The study was prepared by experts from the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law and the Centre for Social Investment at the University of Heidelberg.



The public consultation takes the form of a questionnaire, which includes questions on: barriers to the cross-border activities and establishment of foundations, possible solutions to deal with these barriers, what should be the content and form of a European Foundation Statute, and whether existing foundations would wish to transform themselves into European Foundations.



The need for a European Foundation Statute is one of the issues that was discussed when members of the EFC Management Committee met with José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, in Brussels on 27 January. President Barroso expressed his personal support for the idea, and emphasised that the consultation period represents a window of opportunity for us to demonstrate that there is strong demand for the creation of such a Statute.



The EFC welcomes the Commission's decision to launch a public consultation and is preparing a detailed response which will be published on this website in due course.

>Download the Feasibility Study and questionnaire from the European Commission website

>Read more about the European Foundation Statute

>Go to EFC Briefing: EU Consults on the European Foundation Statute. Give your Input! (EFC members only)