Charlie McCreevy seems to have it in for shareholder democracy. Earlier this month, Europe’s internal market commissioner dropped plans to enshrine the principle of one-share, one-vote in company law. Investors are now fretting about his proposal to abolish shareholders’ pre-emption rights.

Their worry is entirely understandable. Pre-emption rights enshrine a vital principle of share ownership by giving investors the right of first refusal over new equity issuance above a certain threshold. This is partly an economic protection, given that new stock is typically sold at a discount. But it also preserves investors’ voting power and makes it harder for company management to obtain new shareholders who support plans that existing investors oppose.