L 315/74 Official Journal of the European Union 14.11.2012 DIRECTIVE 2012/30/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 October 2012 on coordination of safeguards which, for the protection of the interests of members and others, are required by Member States of companies within the meaning of the second paragraph of Article 54 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in respect of the formation of public limited liability companies and the maintenance and alteration of their capital, with a view to making such safeguards equivalent (Recast) (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 50(1) and (2) (g) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ('), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2), Whereas: (1) Second Council Directive 77/91/EEC of 13 December 1976 on coordination of safeguards which, for the protection of the interests of members and others, are required by Member States of companies within the meaning of the second paragraph of Article 54 of the Treaty, in respect of the formation of public limited liability companies and the maintenance and alteration of their capital, with a view to making such safeguards equivalent (}) has been substantially amended several times (*). Since further amendments are to be made, it should be recast in the interests of clarity. () O C 132, 3.5.2011, p. 113. (%) Position of the European Parliament of 15 November 2011 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 10 October 2012. () O] L 26, 31.1.1977, p. 1. Editorial note: The title of Directive 77[91[EEC has been adjusted to take account of the renumbering of the articles of the Treaty establishing the European Community, in accordance with Article 5 of the Treaty of Lisbon; the original reference was to the second paragraph of Article 58 of the Treaty. (*) See Annex II, Part A. (20 The coordination provided for in point (g) of Article 50(2) of the Treaty and in the General Programme for the abolition of restrictions on freedom of establishment, which was begun by First Council Directive 68/151/EEC of 9 March 1968 on co-ordination of safeguards which, for the protection of the interests of members and others, are required by Member States of companies within the meaning of the second paragraph of Article 58 of the Treaty, with a view to making such safeguards equivalent throughout the Community (°), is especially important in relation to public limited liability companies, because their activities predominate in the economy of the Member States and frequently extend beyond their national boundaries. ()  In order to ensure minimum equivalent protection for both shareholders and creditors of public limited liability companies, the coordination of national provisions relating to their formation and to the main- tenance, increase or reduction of their capital is particularly important. () In the Union, the statutes or instrument of incorporation of a public limited liability company must make it possible for any interested person to acquaint himself with the basic particulars of the company, including the exact composition of its capital. (5)  Union provisions are necessary for maintaining the capital, which constitutes the creditors’ security, in particular by prohibiting any reduction thereof by distribution to shareholders where the latter are not entitled to it and by imposing limits on the company’s right to acquire its own shares. (6)  The restrictions on a company’s acquisition of its own shares should apply not only to acquisitions made by a company itself but also to those made by any person acting in his own name but on the company’s behalf. () O] L 65, 14.3.1968, p. 8.