The dynamic of establishment of SEs speeded up a bit in the last quarter of 2012 and therefore 2013 started with 1,601 registered SEs (175 more than at the time of our previous SE News, 1 October 2012) in the ETUI’s European Company Database (ECDB). As usual, by far the most companies were registered in the Czech Republic and a few more in Germany, Slovakia, France, Denmark and Cyprus.

Facts in brief since the previous SE News:

• New companies: 7 normal, 2 empty/micro and 173 UFOs.

• The Czech practice of ‘SE mass production’ is continuing (at least 156 SEs within four months). The total number of SEs in the Czech Republic is now 1,055.

• 1 company moved its registered office from one EEA country to another.

• 6 companies were deregistered from national registers (for example, due to bankruptcy) and one transformed into a national legal form.

• As before, 25 European countries host European Companies (Bulgaria, Greece, Iceland, Romania and Slovenia still host none).

• In addition to the already registered companies, the ECDB currently provides information on 11 planned SEs (four new planned SEs on the list).

For the definition of the different SE categories – as used by the ETUI ECDB – see: http://ecdb.worker-participation.eu/lexicon.php