The long-awaited code of conduct aimed at making takeovers of European public companies easier faces fierce opposition on Wednesday when it is put to the vote in the European Parliament.
The fate of the code, hammered out after 12 years of hard fought negotiations among bureacrats and politicians from 15 countries, will be decided by a simple majority after the Assembly's 626 members put in their ballots.
The code, if approved, would align takeover rules across the Continent and give shareholders a bigger role in deciding the fate of Europe's listed companies when they receive bids.
But observers are expecting a photo finish as several EU legislators, many from Germany, appear divided on the controversial code.
The takeover directive was agreed by an eight to six margin on June 6 by a 14-member parliamentary delegation following compromises on some issues.
Already, today,a key member of the European Parliament dealt the code a blow by saying he would recommend the assembly reject it.
The joint text cannot solve the problem of the lack of a level playing field, German centre-right MEP Klaus-Heiner Lehne, the Parliament's lead negotiatior on the proposal, said in a statement explaining why the code should be killed.
EU sources say the powerful bloc of German deputies are likely to follow Lehne's advice and vote en masse against the code as they fear it may make German firms more vulnerable to hostile bids.