Businesses that go bust across borders in the European Union could seek restructuring over immediate liquidation under proposals approved on Friday by the bloc’s justice ministers, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The new bankruptcy rules would make it easier to restructure a failing business and would provide rules for determining legal jurisdiction, the European Commission said in a statement. The proposals aim to give creditors a better chance to recoup their investment than if a troubled business were liquidated immediately. About 50,000 businesses a year are affected by cross-border insolvency proceedings, or one in four bankruptcies, according to European Commission data. The European Parliament approved its version of the rules in February. Nations and the parliament now will work together to try to reach a final accord by the end of this year.
