European Business Register Congress of the Notaries of Europe, Brussels, 28 June 2011

Inter-Registry Communication|Brussels|July 2011 What is EBR An association of the national business registers The hub of an online network “One-stop-shop” to access company information Access to over 20 million companies Full multi-lingual capacity Coverage of 26 countries

Inter-Registry Communication|Brussels|July 2011 Coverage EBR Outline – Council Working Group|Brussels|June 2011

Inter-Registry Communication|Brussels|July 2011 Members EU: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom Non-EU: Jersey, Guernsey, Macedonia FYR, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine EU non-members: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania

Inter-Registry Communication|Brussels|July 2011 How does it work? 26 EBR members 13 distributors Business Registers Distributor Customer

Inter-Registry Communication|Brussels|July 2011 Inter-registry requirements Directory of Registers Central Names Index – Easier searches – NOT a central register of companies – the national registers retain primacy Mechanism for translating the terms and concepts used Message exchange with high level of security

Inter-Registry Communication|Brussels|July 2011 EBR approach to proposed directive Support the Directive – Enhances the quality of registers particularly as regards branches – Provides a solid legal base for document exchange – Unique company numbering necessary for proper identification of legal entities – Vital that registers act as an access point to the network to meet client needs EBR partners support EBR as the network for the exchange of documents – EBR already manages secure messaging between registers – Funding in place for 2011/2012; support for new members – Work with other EU-initiatives to ensure value for money for registers and the EU

Inter-Registry Communication|Brussels|July 2011 Paul Farrell EBR Coordinator