O mais autorizado comentário ao Green Paper da Comissão Europeia, divulgado este Verão, é da autoria do Grupo Europeu de Peritos em Direito das Sociedades. Compõem este grupo alguns dos académicos europeus mais relevantes na discussão sobre corporate governance. São eles: Paul Davies, Klaus Hopt, Guido Ferrarini, Alain Pietrancosta, Rolf Skog, Stanislaw Soltysinski, Jaap Winter e Eddy Wymeersch. Interessa sobretudo verificar o que pensam sobre o modelo de escrutínio público sobre códigos de bom governo que vigora hoje em Portugal e que suscitou interesse pela Comissão Europeia como possível solução para todos os Estados-membros. Ouçamo-los com atenção (p. 23-24):
Involving securities regulators in the monitoring of corporate governance codes has the effect of moving the code and its application from the debate with shareholders to a compliance discussion with the regulator. Applying the usual supervisory instruments such as mandatory replies to answers, in situ investigations, or sanctioning would undermine the debate with shareholders and the voluntary nature of the codes. Also, the quality of the explanation may come under threat if there would be a risk of legally enforceable sanctions.
In some Member States voluntary monitoring bodies have sprung up, mainly drawing up lists of compliant and deviating companies and practices. These bodies however suffer from a lack of legal recognition, limiting their role to observation and surveying implementation vs deviation, without a more in depth analysis of compliance and especially of non-compliance explanations.
Therefore it should be considered to support the role of these non-official monitoring bodies, by legally recognising their role as part of the “comply and explain” process. In some Member States it may help that such non-official monitoring bodies have the explicit support from public authorities, as is for example the case in The Netherlands.
Apenas se reproduz este trecho, mas o relatório merece ser integralmente lido; encontra-se disponível aqui.
