Book excerpt: The European Insolvency Regulation of 29 May 2000 was designed to ensure that the insolvency laws of EU Member States could operate effectively and efficiently in cross-border cases. To achieve this, the Regulation limits the circumstances in which insolvency proceedings can be opened in Member States and supplies rules to regulate the scope and effects of, and the interrelationship between, those proceedings that are validly opened under it. The overall idea is to enable the resolution of insolvency in a single set of proceedings, opened in one Member State but effective in others, or at least -- in cases where the Regulation permits proceedings to be opened in more than one Member State in relation to the same debtor -- through the coordination of such proceedings. The Regulation was recast in 2015, resulting in some significant changes to its scope and content. The provisions of the recast Regulation will generally be applicable in Member States from 26 June 2017. This book provides a detailed, article-by-article, commentary on the provisions of the recast Regulation, written by a team of authors with expertise in the law of multiple Member States. The purpose of this introductory chapter is to offer some context for this analysis and to anticipate some of the major themes that recur throughout. The chapter explains the rationale for the existence of the Regulation (Part I), charts the background to its enactment (Part II), sketches its most significant features -- both as originally enacted and as it has been recast (Part III), and makes some suggestions regarding the future development of this important instrument of European law (Part IV).