EU Directive 2026/799: targeted harmonization of creditor protection

Abstract

The article examines the significance of Direc­tive (EU) 2026/799 for the further harmonisation of insolvency law in the European Union and the functional relationship between the institutions covered by the Directive and the protection of creditorsʼ common interests. The relevance of the study stems from persistent differences between national insol­vency regimes of the Member States, which affect the duration and outcome of proceedings, the formation and preservation of the insolvency estate, and the level of creditor recovery. The study is based on the hypothesis that Directive (EU) 2026/799 extends EU harmonised regulation to selected institutions of classical insolvency law while preserving the targeted and minimum character of such approxi­mation, and that the protection of creditorsʼ common interests constitutes one of the functional criteria linking a significant part of the harmonised insti­tutions. Formal legal, historical legal, and functional methods are applied. It is established that the Directive introduces common minimum require­ments concerning substantive, procedural, and institutional elements of national insolvency regimes, including avoidance actions, asset tracing, directorsʼ duties, pre-pack proceedings, creditorsʼ committees, and information disclosure. The analysis demons­trates that these mechanisms are functionally connected with the preservation and recovery of assets, prevention of depletion of the insolvency estate, achievement of a better financial outcome of proceedings, collective creditor participation, and reduction of information asymmetry. At the same time, the Directive does not harmonise the concept of insolvency, the ranking of claims, or the rules governing distribution of proceeds among creditors, which confirms the selective nature of the harmo­nisation model. The scientific novelty lies in analysing heterogeneous institutions of the Directive through their common functional impact on creditor protec­tion. The proposed approach may be used to assess national models of transposition of Directive (EU) 2026/799.