Corporate governance rules: Raising questions of crucial importance for the future of corporations.

Corporate governance rules are necessary to regulate the relationship between shareholders, directors and managers. If there are not a large number of shareholders, irrespective of the size of the business, there is no need for corporate governance rules, which are not appropriate for SMEs, where flexibility of governance is of the essence. Corporate governance measures should also not be applicable to non-public corporations.

Sebastian Bodu MEP said that "the key points of this report should strengthen the ties between a company and both its non-executive directors and shareholders. In this respect, a clear line of separation should be drawn between the functions of the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer. The composition of the board should be more diverse and the role of non-residents (for multinational companies) and of women should be increased by flexible quota arrangements."

"We encourage shareholders to participate in the decision-making process of companies. Electronic voting could be a solution, and the Commission should evaluate this possibility on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis. Shareholders should receive the same amount of information from companies, irrespective of their stake. Risk behaviour should be approved by the Board of Directors and publicly disclosed, and the bonuses of officers should be linked to long-term results, in order to discourage risky behaviour that endangers the company in the long run."

"The Commission should then come up with a set of tools, in a European Code of Conduct, which will allow the main corporate governance instruments to be applied by public corporations, customized in certain matters in accordance with the policy of each Member State," Bodu added.

The EPP Group's point of view prevailed during the vote. The final goal of future legislation, that will come later this year, will be to preserve the strength of our corporations and make them important global actors, protecting them competitively and, as a consequence, securing jobs and profits