On the 22nd of November, the European Union announced a proposed directive for a framework of reforms to its member states’ restructuring and insolvency laws.  The EU proposal reflects a philosophy and approach that U.S. investors will find familiar:  a regime that allows distressed companies to restructure often yields greater recoveries for creditors than a regime that relies exclusively upon liquidation.  Indeed, the proposal points to a World Bank study, which shows that countries that have restructuring regimes yield average recoveries to creditors of 83%, compared with countries that exclusively have liquidation procedures and which yield average recoveries of 57%.  Given the proposal’s expressed goal of promoting restructuring, it is not surprising that the proposed directive also borrows many of its features from chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.