As the European Union seeks to advance its Savings and Investments Union, longstanding tensions between legal harmonization and regulatory competition have returned to the fore - particularly in the domains of corporate and insolvency law. While recent reform efforts have aimed to reduce fragmentation, member states retain considerable discretion, and cross-border mobility remains shaped by both convergence and arbitrage.
The 2025 Oxford Business Law Blog Conference, jointly organized by Bocconi University, the University of Oxford and ECGI, examines the merits and limits of further integration in these areas, focusing on the evolving interaction between EU initiatives and national regimes. Special attention will be paid to the concept of the “28th regime” - optional, EU-level legal frameworks designed to coexist with national laws - as a possible template for future reform.
Bringing together scholars and practitioners from across Europe, the event will explore recent developments in corporate migration, post-Brexit forum shopping, and the prospects for a more coherent insolvency framework. The aim is not only to assess where the current system falls short, but also to identify workable paths forward that respect institutional diversity while promoting market efficiency.
The conference provides a timely forum for critical analysis of the EU’s legal architecture in a changing economic and political landscape.
8:30 – 9:00 am
Registration
9:00 – 9:20 am
Welcome Addresses
Cesare Cavallini Bocconi University
Eleanor Spaventa Bocconi University
9:20 – 10:00 am
Keynote Address
Daniel Gros IEP@Bocconi
10:00 – 11:30 am
Session One: Corporate Migration and the 28th Regime
Chair
Giovanni Strampelli Bocconi University and ECGI
Opportunistic Reincorporations
Anne Lafarre Tilburg University
Discussant
Corrado Malberti University of Trento
The 28th Regime
Paul Oudin ESSEC
Discussant
Gaia Balp Bocconi University
11:30 am – 12:00 pm
Coffee Break
12:00 – 1:30 pm
Session Two: Post-Brexit Insolvency Shopping and EU Harmonization
Chair
Stefania Cirillo Bocconi University
One Size Fits All? The Challenges of Harmonising Insolvency Law in the EU
Georg Ringe Hamburg University and ECGI
Discussant
Chris Thomale University of Vienna and Roma Tre University
“Minimum requirements” for pre-packs, transaction avoidance and director liability in the Proposal for a Directive on insolvency law
Kristin Van Zwieten University of Oxford and ECGI
Discussant
Lorenzo Stanghellini University of Florence
1:30 – 2:30 pm
Lunch
2:30 – 4:45 pm
Panel: Whither European Business Law?
Chair
Marco Ventoruzzo Bocconi University and ECGI
Panelists
Alessandro De Nicola BonelliErede
Paul A. Fioravanti, Jr. Delaware Court of Chancery
Genevieve Helleringer ESSEC, Oxford, and ECGI
Paola Leocani Simmons & Simmons
Jacques Moscianese Intesa Sanpaolo
4:45 – 5:00 pm
Concluding remarks
Luca Enriques Bocconi University and ECGI
Kristin Van Zwieten University of Oxford and ECGI
