The Commission Action Plan on modernising company law and enhancing corporate governance in the European Union set the improvement of the rights of shareholders of companies across the Member States as a priority. In this respect a Directive 2007/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the exercise of certain rights of shareholders in listed companies was adopted.

The directive says that companies should face no legal obstacles in offering to their shareholders any means of electronic participation in the general meeting. Voting without attending the general meeting in person, whether by correspondence or by electronic means, should not be subject to constraints other than those necessary for the verification of identity and the security of electronic communications. Member States shall permit companies to offer to their shareholders any form of participation in the general meeting by electronic means, notably any or all of the following forms of participation:

(a) real-time transmission of the general meeting;

(b) real-time two-way communication enabling shareholders to address the general meeting from a remote location;

(c) a mechanism for casting votes, whether before or during the general meeting, without the need to appoint a proxy holder who is physically present at the meeting.