The managers of the legal entities and the natural persons participating in the formation of the European Cooperative Society shall invite the special negotiating body to meet and to that end shall inform the staff representatives and the managers of the establishments and subsidiaries concerned who, in the absence of staff representatives, shall inform the employees directly, of the identity of the participating legal entities and, where applicable, of the participating natural persons as well as the number of employees they employ.
Negotiations begin as soon as the special negotiating body is set up. They may continue for six months unless the parties decide, by mutual agreement, to extend these negotiations, the total duration of which may not exceed one year.
During this period, the special negotiation body is regularly informed about the process of creating the European Cooperative Society.
The time spent in meetings by the members of the special negotiation body shall be considered as working time and paid at the normal rate.