European Commission Green Papers on Corporate Governance and the ECGI Research Agenda

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The financial crisis raised fundamental questions about corporate governance. Much of the focus was on the governance of financial institutions. But wider issues were also raised. As a consequence, while the European Commission's (EC) first Green Paper in June 2010 was on the Corporate Governance of Financial Institutions, it subsequently produced in April 2011 a Green Paper on Corporate Governance of all European corporations. 

In addition to the policy response, the financial crisis has also raised questions about the agenda for corporate governance research. Firstly there is a set of issues relating to the financial crisis itself - why it happened? what was the contribution of poor corporate governance to it? and what it reveals is different about the corporate governance of financial institutions from other organisations? Second, it raises questions about whether the past research agenda has addressed the right topics. For example, the conflicts between different classes of investors as well as between principals and agents have risen to the fore since the crisis as has the interaction between regulation and corporate governance. 

The purpose of the meeting in Brussels was to identify what the research agenda on corporate governance going forward should be both from the point of view of what is of most relevance to policymakers, in particular the EU, and what is intellectually of particular significance to academics working in the field. 

The two EC Green Papers address a common set of issues. These can be classified under three headings - shareholders, boards of directors, and gatekeepers (regulators, auditors, credit rating agencies, codes etc). 

Background Papers

Corporate governance in financial institutions and remuneration policies 
Green paper published by the EU Commission 
on 2 June 2010

The EU corporate governance framework 
Green Paper published by the EU Commission 
on 5 April 2011

Report on corporate governance in financial institutions 
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament 
dated 24 March 2011

Supported by

The meeting was supported by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) under its Politics, Economics and Global Governance the European Dimensions (PEGGED) programme and the London Business School’s Centre for Corporate Governance.