Rules designed to make it easier for shareholders to vote at company meetings they cannot attend will be proposed by the European Union before year end, an EU commissioner said on November 17.
Commissioner for the Internal Market Charlie McCreevy said the rules would beef up shareholder rights, particularly for those owning stakes in companies based in another member state. "The minimum (aim) here is to enable shareholders to participate in and vote at shareholders meetings," McCreevy said in a speech to a financial conference in Copenhagen.
"To that end I intend to propose...before the end of this year a directive which aims at removing practical and legal obstacles that hinder the exercise of shareholder rights in a cross-border context."
Enabling shareholders to vote in absentia is a key issue for Europe, where about 40 percent of the market capitalisation of listed companies is held by foreign investors who often can't attend company meetings in person. The Association of British Insurers (ABI), whose members control funds worth some 1.5 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion), has said a third of Europe's top firms fail to operate a one share, one vote policy.