It is commonplace to speak of Europe as a major player in the global marketplace. In reality, however, persistent conflicts among the company and securities law regimes of the various Member States continue to hamper the full emergence of the EU as an economic power on a par with the US and China. Progress is under way, however, as this book amply testifies. In the wake of the Financial Services Action Plan (1999) and the Company Law and Corporate Governance Action Plan (2003), a series of EU regulations and ECJ cases has significantly eroded the national barriers to cross-border legal entities within the Union. The authors of these nine essays leading academics from Denmark, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway and the UK acknowledge and analyze this progress. Most demonstrate why they think further regulatory harmonization is essential, although some warn of potential dangers and pitfalls along the way.