FAQ

You can do so by opening a "pure registered" account with the Custody and Trustee Dept. at Société Générale. You can do so by writing to :
 
If you already own Veolia Environnement shares and want to transfer them to a registered account, apply in writing to your financial intermediary, which will contact the Custody and Trustee Dept. at Société Générale directly on your behalf.
Similarly, if you want to register your Veolia Environnement shares in an administered registered account, apply in writing specifying the desired mode of registration to your financial intermediary, which will make the change itself.
 

• No charge for custody or basic administration: these fees are paid directly by Veolia Environnement to Société Générale. They are not charged to you.
   
• Notice to attend shareholders' meetings sent to you automatically two or three weeks before the date of the meeting: a complete set of documents relating to the meeting is sent by mail to all registered shareholders, regardless of the number of shares held. Shareholders wishing to attend must return the application for a ticket of admission within the stipulated deadline. Even if the application fails to reach the company offices, shareholders can gain admission simply by showing proof of their identity. They do not need to provide a certificate stating that their shares have been immobilized.
   
• A regular flow of personalized information about the company, e.g. the Annual Report, Shareholders' newsletter, the Shareholders' Guide, etc.
   
• Access to a special Société Générale hotline reserved for registered shareholders. Registered shareholders can call this number for information regarding their shares and to conduct transactions (buying and selling, receiving dividends, answers to tax queries, etc.:
  Société Générale hotline  0825 820 000 in France (0.15 euro per minute, incl. sales tax)
  Or 33 2 51 85 67 89 from abroad.

The French PEA (for Plan d'Epargne en Actions) was introduced in 1992 to encourage long-term saving through investment in French (and later European) equities. A certain number of tax incentives are attached to it for that purpose. If you are resident in France, consult with your financial intermediary to determine whether it is in your interest to hold your Veolia Environnement shares in a PEA plan.

Qualifying conditions :

• To qualify for the tax advantages offered by the PEA, you must hold onto the plan for at least 5 years. If this condition is satisfied, dividends and capital gains on investments made within the PEA are exempt from personal income tax. They are liable to social security charges, however. Any withdrawal, even a partial withdrawal, from the plan within the first 5 years automatically entails closure of the plan and cancellation of all of the tax advantages attaching to it.
• All French taxpayers or each spouse liable to joint taxation is entitled to open a PEA. As of January 1, 2002, each individual is entitled to invest up to 92,000 euros in a PEA.
• Any withdrawal between 5 and 8 years of the plan's commencement entails closure of the plan, but the holder is entitled to benefit from the tax advantages for the period during which the plan was in being .
• Beyond 8 years, PEA holders qualify for the full extent of the plan's tax advantages. Partial cash withdrawals do not entail closure of the plan, but no further payments may be made into the plan. Total withdrawal, on the other hand, entails definitive closure of the plan.
• If you want to invest your Veolia Environnement shares in a PEA and still hold them in registered form, you should opt for the administered registered form (the formalities for combining a PEA with “pure registration” are too complex). That will enable you to benefit from the advantages of the registered form (apart from the exemption from the charges for custody and basic administration fees). You should check that your financial intermediary does not make a significant surcharge for this.
   

Who’s entitled to take part in shareholders’ meetings

Shareholders’ meetings are open to all shareholders, regardless of how many shares they own. These meetings give shareholders the chance to express their views and opinions, by putting questions to the Board of Directors and by voting on the proposed resolutions. To ensure your right to attend or be represented at shareholders’ meetings or to place a postal vote, you must first apply for your admission ticket from:

• Société Générale (registered shares),
• your financial intermediary (bearer shares).

Whichever kind of shares you hold, your attendance at shareholders’ meetings is subject to the reception of your notice of participation (sent to Société Générale or your financial intermediary). This certificate serves to confirm that a book entry exists for your shares on a date no later than 3 business days before the date of the meeting.

Different types of shareholders’ meetings

Shareholders’ meetings can be annual, extraordinary or combined.

• Annual (AGM): held once a year, within a maximum of six months subsequent to the end of the preceding financial year. The purpose of the AGM is to inform shareholders of the health of the company. Shareholders are asked to approve the accounts for the year ending, decide on how to apply results, and set dividends and conditions of payment. The AGM also renews the tenure of the members of the Board of Directors and the Statutory Auditors or appoints new ones, and authorizes all operations concerning the ongoing management of the company.
• Extraordinary (EGM): an EGM may be called at any time to solicit the shareholders’ approval of changes to the statutes or to the company’s equity (increase, reduction, mergers etc.).
• Combined (CGM): a combination of the above two meetings, held on the same date and announced in the same way.

How can I stay informed of upcoming shareholders’ meetings?

• 35 days prior to the scheduled date, Veolia Environnement will publish a preliminary notice of meeting in the French Bulletin of mandatory legal announcements (BALO) to alert shareholders that a meeting has been scheduled.
• Among other information, this announcement contains the provisional agenda for the Meeting and the resolutions for approval by the shareholders. At this point the agenda and the text of the resolutions are not yet definitive.
• 15 days prior to the scheduled date, the notice of meeting is published in the BALO. This document is sent by mail to allregistered shareholders. It stipulates the date, time and place of the meeting, together with terms and conditions of attendance, plus the agenda.

You can also find out about shareholders’ meetings by other means:

• The financial announcements published by Veolia Environnement in the business and financial press, giving advance notice of the date and time of shareholders’ meetings, together with all the information you need in order to apply to attend;
• Veolia Environnement’s Shareholder Relations Dept. Free phone: 0805 800 000, no charge when calling from a landline in France:
• The Veolia website: www.veolia-finance.com
• The AMF website: www.amf-france.org

How do I take part in a shareholders’ meeting?

•  If you hold registered shares: you’ll receive notification of upcoming meetings no later than 15 days prior to the date set for the meeting. This notification will be accompanied by the documents required by law and by applicable regulations: an application form for shareholders’ meeting admission ticket, a proxy voting form and a postal voting form, and an application form for documents, information, resolutions, and financial results for the previous five years.
• If you hold bearer shares: it’s up to you to inform your financial intermediary of your wish to attend the meeting. S/he will obtain the necessary documents and provide you with a certificate attesting to your participation at the meeting. This certificate should be sent to Société Générale (Nantes) together with your admission ticket application form, which you’ll receive by return post.

Typically, 10 days before the shareholders’ meeting the following documents are available for consultation by shareholders at the company’s registered office (upon request at the main reception): Annual Report, the French Reference Document, Report of the Board of Directors, Reports of the Statutory Auditors (general and special).
To ensure notification reaches as many people as possible, Veolia Environnement will post a notification and the French Reference Document on its website at least 10 days before the shareholders’ meeting.

Each shareholder has one vote for each share owned carrying a voting right (one Veolia Environnement share = one vote).

If you are unable to attend shareholders' meeting in person, you can vote in one of 3 ways as stipulated in the notice of meeting :

• By correspondence. To do so, fill in the box next to “I wish to vote by correspondence” then fill in the boxes next to any resolutions you disagree with.
• Give your proxy to the Chairman. As a shareholder, simply date and sign at the bottom of the form, without filling anything in. That means you cast your vote in favor of all the draft resolutions submitted or approved by the Board of Directors, and against any draft resolutions hostile to the Board.
• Give you proxy to your spouse or to another shareholder. Tick the corresponding box, indicating the family name and first name, or registered name of the proxy holder.

Whatever you decide to do, and whatever the form in which you hold your shares (registered or bearer), you should date and sign your completed form, and send it to :
The foregoing instructions are valid solely if the corresponding shares have been immobilized by the financial institution that holds your share account within the stipulated time limit, and that proof of immobilization has been received by Société Générale, also within the same time limit.

If you still have not received your admission ticket by the date of the shareholders' meeting, you can still attend and vote in the meeting, provided you can give proof of :

• your identity if you are a registered shareholder;
• your identity + a certificate from your financial intermediary stating that your shares have been immobilized, if you own bearer shares.