Following the European Parliament's vote in favour of the proposal to revise the Shareholders Rights Directive onJuly 8, Arnaud Houdmont from BETTER FINANCE brought attention to BETTER FINANCE's concerns regarding the "say on pay" rule approved by MEPs in an article in French daily L'Agefi.
Since the rule stipulates that it is up to each member state to decide whether a vote on remuneration policy at the general meeting of shareholders is binding or advisory, BETTER FINANCE believes that individual shareholders will not necessarily have an effective say on executive remuneration.
As Mr Houdmont noted, the Parliament also missed the opportunity to overcome the existing barriers to shareholder engagement within the EU since individual cross-border shareholders (those domiciled in a Member State of the EU other than the issuing company) still have to pay huge fees to be able to exercise their voting rights.
Please find the article here.