It is a grand title with a grand idea behind it. The idea of a Societas Europaea (SE), a company based and regulated in the European Union as a whole, rather than a single nation, has been around for at least 30 years. But it was not until September 11th this year that Allianz, Europe's biggest insurer, became the first big company to opt for pan-European status, announcing the move as part of a merger and business restructuring. The legal groundwork for SE status was put in place only in October last year with the passage of EU legislation which, in theory, allows this new animal to operate seamlessly across the 28 countries of the European Economic Area (the EU and three neighbouring countries).
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