In this article we highlight the main paths of evolution in European company law and assess the need to rebuild some of the fundamentals on which European company law at present is built. The issue is put in the wider perspective of recent efforts to modernise the EU regulatory framework, inter alia with the Lamfalussy and Winter reports. Finally, we examine whether recent developments in US company and securities law create a need to reassess some of the European company law rules as well. Published in: Nederlands Juristenblad, Kluwer, 2002, afl. 41, p. 2054-2060.