1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B FIRSTCOUNCILDIRECTIVE
of5March1979
on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the taking up
andpursuitofthebusinessofdirectlife assurance
(79/267/EEC)
(OJ L 63, 13.3.1979, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive 90/619/EEC of 8 November 1990 L 330 50 29.11.1990
►M2Council Directive 92/96/EEC of 10 November 1992 L 360 1 9.12.1992
►M3European Parliament and Council Directive 95/26/EC of 29 June 1995 L 168 7 18.7.1995
►M4Directive 2002/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
5 March2002L 77 11 20.3.2002
Amended by:
►A1Act of Accession of Greece L 291 17 19.11.1979
►A2Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal L 302 23 15.11.1985
►A3Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C241 21 29.8.1994
(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
NB: This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of account and/or the ecu, which from 1 January 1999
should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation (EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980, p. 1) andCouncil Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).
▼B
FIRSTCOUNCILDIRECTIVE
of5March1979
on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provi-
sions relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of
directlife assurance
(79/267/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Articles 49 and 57 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(3),
Whereas, in order to facilitate the taking up and pursuit of the business
of life assurance, it is essential to eliminate certain divergences which
exist between national supervisory legislation; whereas, in order to
achieve this objective and at the same time ensure adequate protectionfor policy-holders and beneficiaries in all Member States, the provi-sions relating to the financial guarantees required of life assuranceundertakings should be coordinated;
Whereas a classification by class of insurance is necessary in order to
determine, in particular, the activities subject to compulsory authoriza-tion;
Whereas certain mutual associations which, by virtue of their legal
status, fulfil requirements as to security and other specific financialguarantees should be excluded from the scope of this Directive;
whereas certain organizations whose activity covers only a very
restricted sector and is limited by their articles of association shouldalso be excluded;
Whereas the Member States have different regulations and practices as
to the simultaneous carrying on of life assurance and non-life insur-ance; whereas newly formed undertakings should no longer beauthorized to carry on these two activities simultaneously; whereasMember States should be allowed to permit existing undertakings
which carry on these activities simultaneously to continue to do so
provided that separate management is adopted for each of their activ-ities, in order that the respective interests of life policy-holders andnon-life policy-holders are safeguarded and the minimum financialobligations in respect of one of the activities are not borne by the otheractivity; whereas, when one of the undertakings wishes to establish
itself in a Member State to pursue life assurance in that State, it should
set up a subsidiary for that purpose, which may be eligible on a transi-tional basis for certain facilities; whereas, Member States should begiven the option of requiring those existing undertakings establishedin their territory which carry on life assurance and non-life insurance
simultaneously to put an end to this practice; whereas, moreover,
specialized undertakings should be subject to special supervision wherea non-life undertaking belongs to the same financial group as a lifeundertaking;
Whereas life assurance is subject to official authorization and supervi-
sion in each Member State; whereas the conditions for the granting orwithdrawal of such authorization should be defined; whereas provisionmust be made for the right to apply to the courts should an authoriza-tion be refused or withdrawn;1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 35, 28. 3. 1974, p. 9.
(2) OJ No C 140, 13. 11. 1974, p. 44.
(3) OJ No C 109, 19. 9. 1974, p. 1.
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Whereas, as regards technical reserves, including mathematical
reserves, the same rules may be adopted as in the case of non-lifeinsurance, namely, they must be localized in the country where activ-
ities are carried on and the rules of that country are to govern the
methods of calculation, the determination of investment categories andthe valuation of assets; whereas, although it is desirable that thesevarious subjects should be coordinated, this is not essential for thepurposes of this Directive and may be carried out subsequently;
Where it is necessary that, over and above technical reserves, including
mathematical reserves, of sufficient amount to meet their underwriting
liabilites, insurance undertakings should possess a supplementary
reserve, known as the solvency margin, represented by free assets and,with the agreement of the supervisory authority, by other implicitassets, in order to provide against business fluctuations; whereas, inorder to ensure that the requirements imposed for such purposes aredetermined according to objective criteria whereby undertakings of the
same size will be placed on an equal footing as regards competition, it
is desirable to provide that this margin shall be related to all thecommitments of the undertaking and to the nature and gravity of therisks presented by the various activities falling within the scope of theDirective; whereas this margin should therefore vary according to
whether the risks are of investment, death or management only;
whereas it should accordingly be determined in terms of mathematicalreserves and capital at risk underwritten by an undertaking, ofpremiums or contributions received, of reserves only or of the assetsof tontines;
Whereas it is necessary to require a guarantee fund, the amount and
composition of which are such as to provide an assurance that theundertakings possess adequate resources when they are set up and that
in the subsequent course of business the solvency margin in no event
falls below a minimum of security; whereas the whole or a specifiedpart of this guarantee fund must consist of explicit asset items;
Whereas it is necessary to provide for measures in cases where the
financial position of the undertaking becomes such that it is difficultfor it to meet its underwriting liabilities;
Whereas the coordinated rules concerning the pursuit of the business of
direct insurance within the Community should, in principle, apply to allundertakings operating on the market and, consequently, also to agen-
cies and branches where the head office of the undertaking is situated
outside the Community; whereas it is nevertheless desirable as regardsthe methods of supervision to lay down special provisions for suchagencies or branches, in view of the fact that the assets of the under-takings to which they belong are situated outside the Community;
Whereas it is desirable to provide for the conclusion of reciprocal
agreements with one or more third countries in order to permit therelaxation of such special conditions, while observing the principle
that such agencies and branches should not obtain more favourable
treatment than Community undertakings;
Whereas certain transitional provisions are required in order, in parti-
cular, to permit small and medium-sized undertakings already inexistence to adapt themselves to the requirements to be introduced bythe Member States in pursuance of this Directive, subject to Article 53of the Treaty applying;
Whereas Article 52 of the EEC Treaty has been directly applicable
since the end of the transitional period; whereas since that time there
has accordingly been no need for the adoption of Directives abolishing
restrictions on the freedom of establishment; whereas, however, theprovisions concerning proof of good repute and no previous bankruptcycontained in Council Directive 73/240/EEC of 24 July 1973, abolishingrestrictions on freedom of establishment in the business of direct insur-ance other than life assurance(
1) do not strictly speaking constitute1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 228, 16. 8. 1973, p. 20.
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restrictions and are also required in life assurance; whereas they should
accordingly be included in this coordination Directive;
Whereas it is important to guarantee the uniform application of the
coordinated rules and to provide accordingly for close collaborationbetween the Commission and the Member States in this field,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
TITLE I
GENERALPROVISIONS
Article 1
This Directive concerns the taking up and pursuit of the self-employed
activity of direct insurance carried on by undertakings which are estab-
lished in a Member State or wish to become established there in the
form of the activities defined below:
1. The following kinds of insurance where they are on a contractual
basis:
(a) life assurance, that is to say, the class of insurance which
comprises, in particular, assurance on survival to a stipulatedage only, assurance on deathonly, assurance on survival to astipulated age or on earlier death, life assurance with return ofpremiums, marriage assurance, birthassurance;
(b) annuities;
(c) supplementary insurance carried on by life assurance undertak-
ings, that is to say, in particular, insurance against personalinjury including incapacity for employment, insurance againstdeathresulting from an accident and insurance against disability
resulting from an accident or sickness, where these various kinds
of insurance are underwritten in addition to life assurance;
(d) the type of insurance existing in Ireland and the United
Kingdom known as permanent health insurance not subject tocancellation.
2. The following operations, where they are on a contractual basis, in
so far as they are subject to supervision by the administrative autho-rities responsible for the supervision of private insurance►
M2 ◄:
(a) tontines whereby associations of subscribers are set up with a
view to jointly capitalizing their contributions and subsequentlydistributing the assets thus accumulated among the survivors oramong the beneficiaries of the deceased;
(b) capital redemption operations based on actuarial calculation
whereby, in return for single or periodic payments agreed inadvance, commitments of specified duration and amount areundertaken;
(c) management of group pension funds, i.e. operations consisting,
for the undertaking concerned, in managing the investments,
and in particular the assets representing the reserves of bodies
that effect payments on death or survival or in the event ofdiscontinuance or curtailment of activity;
(d) the operations referred to in (c) where they are accompanied by
insurance covering either conservation of capital or payment ofa minimum interest;
(e) the operations carried out by insurance companies such as those
referred to in Chapter 1, Title 4 of Book IV of the French ‘Codedes assurances’.
3. Operations relating to the length of human life which are prescribed
by or provided for in social insurance legislation, when they areeffected or managed at their own risk by assurance undertakings inaccordance withth e laws of a Member State.1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 4
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Article 2
This Directive shall not concern:
1. subject to the application of Article 1 (1) (c) of this Directive, the
classes designated in the Annex to First Council Directive 73/239/
EEC of 24 July 1973 on the coordination of laws, regulations and
administrative provisions relating to the taking-up and pursuit ofthe business of direct insurance other than life assurance(
1), herein-
after referred to as ‘the first coordination Directive (non-lifeinsurance)’;
2. operations of provident and mutual-benefit institutions whose bene-
fits vary according to the resources available and which require each
of their members to contribute at the appropriate flat rate;
3. operations carried out by organizations other than undertakings
referred to in Article 1, whose object is to provide benefits foremployed or self-employed persons belonging to an undertaking orgroup of undertakings, or a trade or group of trades, in the event ofdeathor survival or of discontinuance or curtailment of activity,
whether or not the commitments arising from such operations are
fully covered at all times by mathematical reserves;
4. subject to the application of Article 1 (3), insurance forming part of
a statutory system of social security.
Article 3
This Directive shall not concern:1. organizations which undertake to provide benefits solely in the event
of death, where the amount of such benefits does not exceed theaverage funeral costs for a single death or where the benefits areprovided in kind;
2. mutual associations, where:
— the articles of association contain provisions for calling up addi-
tional contributions or reducing their benefits or claimingassistance from other persons who have undertaken to provideit, and
— the annual contribution income for the activities covered by this
Directive does not exceed EUR 5 million for three consecutiveyears. If this amount is exceeded for three consecutive yearsthis Directive shall apply with effect from the fourth year.
Nevertheless, the provisions of this Article shall not prevent a
mutual assurance undertaking from applying, or continuing, to be
licensed under this Directive
Article 4
This Directive shall not concern the ‘Versorgungsverband deutscher
Wirtschaftsorganisationen’ in Germany or the ‘Caisse d'épargne del'État’ in Luxembourg unless their statutes are amended as regards thescope of their activities.
This Directive shall not concern the pension activities of pension insur-
ance undertakings prescribed in the Employees Pensions Act (TEL) andother related Finnish legislation provided that:
(a) pension insurance companies which already under Finnish law are
obliged to have separate accounting and management systems fortheir pension activities will furthermore, as from the date of acces-sion, set up separate legal entities for carrying out these activities;
(b) the Finnish authorities shall allow in a non-discriminatory manner
all nationals and companies of Member States to perform according1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 5
(1) OJ No L 228, 16. 8. 1973, p. 3.▼M4
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to Finnishlegislation th e activities specified in Article 1 related to
this exemption whether by means of:
— ownership or participation in an existing insurance company or
group;
— creation or participation of new insurance companies or groups,
including pensioninsurance companies;
(c) the Finnish authorities will submit to the Commission for approval
a report within three months from the date of accession, stating
which measures have been taken to split up TEL-activities from
normal insurance activities carried out by Finnishinsurance compa-nies in order to conform to all the requirements of the third lifeassurance Directive.
Article 5
For the purposes of this Directive:
(a) ‘unit of account’ means the European unit of account (EUA) as
defined by Article 10 of the Financial Regulation of 21 December
1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Commu-
nities(
1); wherever this Directive refers to the unit of account, the
conversion value in national currency to be adopted shall as from31 December of each year be that of the last day of the precedingmonthof October for wh ichEUA conversion values are available
in all the Community currencies;
(b) ‘matching assets’ means the representation of underwriting liabil-
ities which can be required to be met in a particular currency by
assets expressed or realisable in the same currency;
(c) ‘localization of assets’ means the existence of assets, whether
movable or immovable, within a Member State but shall not be
construed as involving a requirement that movable assets be depos-
ited or that immovable assets be subjected to restrictive measuressuchas th e registration of mortgages; assets represented by claimsagainst debtors shall be regarded as situated in the Member Statewhere they are realizable;
(d) ‘capital at risk’ means the amount payable on death less the math-
ematical reserve for the main risk.
TITLE II
RULES APPLICABLE TO UNDERTAKINGS WHOSE HEAD OFFICES
ARESITUATEDWITHINTHECOMMUNITY
Section A
Conditionsofadmission
Article 6
The taking-up of the activities covered by this Directive shall be
subject to prior official authorization.
Such authorization shall be sought from the authorities of the home
Member State by:
(a) any undertaking which establishes its head office in the territory of
that State;
(b) any undertaking which, having received the authorization required
in the first subparagraph, extends its business to an entire class orto other classes.1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 6
(1) OJ No L 356, 31. 12. 1977, p. 1.▼B
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Article 7
1. Authorization shall be valid for the entire Community. It shall
permit an undertaking to carry on business there, under either the right
of establishment or freedom to provide services.
2. Authorization shall be granted for a particular class of assurance
as listed in the Annex. It shall cover the entire class, unless the appli-cant wishes to cover only some of the risks pertaining to that class.
The competent authorities may restrict authorization requested for one
of the classes to the operations set out in the scheme of operationsreferred to in Article 9.
Each Member State may grant authorization for two or more of the
classes, where its national laws permit such classes to be carried on
simultaneously.
Article 8
1. The home Member State shall require every assurance under-
taking for which authorization is sought to:
(a) adopt one of the following forms:
— in the case of the Kingdom of Belgium: ‘société anonyme/
naamloze vennootschap’, ‘société en commandite par actions/
commanditaire vennootschap op aandelen’, ‘association d'assur-ance mutuelle/onderlinge verzekeringsvereniging’, ‘sociétécoopérative/coöperatieve vennootschap’,
— in the case of the Kingdom of Denmark: ‘aktieselskaber’,
‘gensidige selskaber’, ‘pensionskasser omfattet af lov om forsik-ringsvirksomhed (tværgående pensionskasser)’,
— in the case of the Federal Republic of Germany: ‘Aktienge-
sellschaft’, ‘Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit’,‘öffentlich-rechtliches Wettbewerbsversicherungsunternehmen’,
— in the case of the French Republic: ‘société anonyme’, ‘société
d'assurance mutuelle’, ‘institution de prévoyance régie par le
code de la sécurité sociale’, ‘institution de prévoyance régie
par le code rural’ and ‘mutuelles régies par le code de la mutua-lité’,
— in the case of Ireland: incorporated companies limited by shares
or by guarantee or unlimited, societies registered under theIndustrial and Provident Societies Acts and societies registeredunder the Friendly Societies Acts,
— in the case of the Italian Republic: ‘societá per azioni’, ‘societá
cooperativa’, ‘mutua di assicurazione’,
— in the case of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: ‘société
anonyme’, ‘société en commandite par actions’, ‘association
d'assurances mutuelles’, ‘société coopérative’,
— in the case of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: ‘naamloze
vennootschap’, ‘onderlinge waarborgmaatschappij’,
— in the case of the United Kingdom: incorporated companies
limited by shares or by guarantee or unlimited, societies regis-
tered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, societiesregistered or incorporated under the Friendly Societies Acts, theassociation of underwriters known as Lloyd's,
— in the case of the Hellenic Republic: ‘ ανώνυµη εταιρία ’,
— in the case of the Kingdom of Spain: ‘sociedad anonima’, ‘soci-
edad mutua’, ‘sociedad cooperativa’,
— in the case of the Portuguese Republic: ‘sociedade anónima’,
‘mútua de seguros’,
— in the case of the Republic of Austria: ‘Aktiengesellschaft’,
‘Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit’,
— in the case of the Republic of Finland: ‘keskinäinen vakuutu-
syhtiö’ / ‘ömsesidigt försäkringsbolag’, ‘vakuutusosakeyhtiö’ /‘försäkringsaktiebolag’, ‘vakuutusyhdistys’ / ‘försäkringsför-ening’,1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 7
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— in the case of the Kingdom of Sweden: ‘försäkringsaktiebolag’,
‘ömsesidiga försäkringsbolag’,‘understödsföreningar’.
An assurance undertaking may also adopt the form of a European
company when that has been established.
Furthermore, Member States may, where appropriate, set up undertak-
ings in any public-law form provided that such bodies have as theirobject insurance operations under conditions equivalent to those underwhich private-law undertakings operate;
(b) limit its objects to the business provided for in this Directive and
operations directly arising therefrom, to the exclusion of all othercommercial business;
(c) submit a scheme of operations in accordance with Article 9;
(d) possess the minimum guarantee fund provided for in Article 20 (2);
(e) be effectively run by persons of good repute withappropriate
professional qualifications or experience.
Moreover, where close links exist between the life assurance under-
taking and other natural or legal persons, the competent authorities
shall grant authorization only if those links do not prevent the effective
exercise of their supervisory functions.
The competent authorities shall also refuse authorization if the laws,
regulations or administrative provisions of a non-member countrygoverning one or more natural or legal persons with which the under-
taking has close links, or difficulties involved in their enforcement,
prevent the effective exercise of their supervisory functions.
The competent authorities shall require life assurance undertakings to
provide them with the information they require to monitor compliancewith the conditions referred to in this paragraph on a continuous basis.
1a. Member States shall require that the head offices of insurance
undertakings be situated in the same Member State as their registered
offices.
2. An undertaking seeking authorization to extend its business to
other classes or to extend an authorization covering only some of the
risks pertaining to one class shall be required to submit a scheme of
operations in accordance withArticle 9.
It shall, furthermore, be required to show proof that it possesses the
solvency margin provided for in Article 19 and the guarantee fundreferred to in Article 20 (1) and (2).
3. Member States shall not adopt provisions requiring the prior
approval or systematic notification of general and special policy condi-tions, of scales of premiums, of the technical bases, used in particularfor calculating scales of premiums and technical provisions or of formsand other printed documents which an assurance undertaking intends touse in its dealings withpolicy-h olders.
Notwithstanding the first subparagraph, for the sole purpose of veri-
fying compliance withnational provisions concerning actuarialprinciples, the home Member State may require systematic notificationof the technical bases used for calculating scales of premiums and tech-nical provisions, without that requirement constituting a prior condition
for an undertaking to carry on its business.
Nothing in this Directive shall prevent Member States from main-
taining in force or introducing laws, regulations or administrativeprovisions requiring approval of the memorandum and articles of asso-ciation and the communication of any other documents necessary forthe normal exercise of supervision.1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 8
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Not later than five years after the date of entry into force of Directive
92/96/EEC(1), the Commission shall submit a report to the Council on
the implementation of this paragraph.
4. The abovementioned provisions may not require that any applica-
tion for authorization be considered in the light of the economic
requirements of the market.
Article 9
The scheme of operations referred to in Article 8 (1) (c) and (2) shall
include particulars or proof concerning:
(a) the nature of the commitments which the undertaking proposes to
cover;
(b) the guiding principles as to reassurance;
(c) the items constituting the minimum guarantee fund;
(d) estimates relating to the costs of setting up the administrative
services and the organization for securing business and the finan-cial resources intended to meet those costs;in addition, for the firstthree financial years:
(e) a plan setting out detailed estimates of income and expenditure in
respect of direct business, reassurance acceptances and reassurance
cessions;
(f) a forecast balance sheet;
(g) estimates relating to the financial resources intended to cover
underwriting liabilities and the solvency margin.
Article 10
1. An assurance undertaking that proposes to establish a branch
within the territory of another Member State shall notify the competent
authorities of its home Member State.
2. The Member States shall require every assurance undertaking that
proposes to establish a branch within the territory of another MemberState to provide the following information when effecting the notifica-tion provided for in paragraph1:
(a) the Member State within the territory of which it proposes to estab-
lisha branch ;
(b) a scheme of operations setting out inter alia the types of business
envisaged and the structural organization of the branch;
(c) the address in the Member State of the branch from which docu-
ments may be obtained and to which they may be delivered, itbeing understood that that address shall be the one to which all
communications to the authorized agent are sent;
(d) the name of the branch's authorized agent, who must possess suffi-
cient powers to bind the undertaking in relation to third parties andto represent it in relations with the authorities and courts of theMember State of the branch. With regard to Lloyd's, in the event
of any litigation in the Member State of the branch arising out of
underwritten commitments, the assured persons must not be treatedless favourably than if the litigation had been brought against busi-nesses of a conventional type. The authorized agent must,therefore, possess sufficient powers for proceedings to be taken
against him and must in that capacity be able to bind the Lloyd's
underwriters concerned.
3. Unless the competent authorities of the home Member State have
reason to doubt the adequacy of the administrative structure or thefinancial situation of the assurance undertaking or the good repute andprofessional qualification or experience of the directors or managers orthe authorized agent, taking into account the business planned, they1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 9
(1) OJ No L 360, 9. 12. 1992, p. 1.
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shall within three months of receiving all the information referred to in
paragraph 2 communicate that information to the competent authoritiesof the Member State of the branch and shall inform the undertaking
concerned accordingly.
The competent authorities of the home Member State shall also attest
that the assurance undertaking has the minimum solvency margin
calculated in accordance withArticles 19 and 20.
Where the competent authorities of the home Member State refuse to
communicate the information referred to in paragraph 2 to the compe-
tent authorities of the Member State of the branch they shall give thereasons for their refusal to the undertaking concerned within threemonths of receiving all the information in question. That refusal orfailure to act shall be subject to a right to apply to the courts in thehome Member State.
4. Before the branch of an assurance undertaking starts business, the
competent authorities of the Member State of the branch shall, withintwo months of receiving the information referred to in paragraph 3,
inform the competent authority of the home Member State, if appro-
priate, of the conditions under which, in the interest of the generalgood, that business must be carried on in the Member State of thebranch.
5. On receiving a communication from the competent authorities of
the Member State of the branch or, if no communication is receivedfrom them, on expiry of the period provided for in paragraph 4, thebranchmay be establish ed and start business.
6. In the event of a change in any of the particulars communicated
under paragraph2 (b), (c) or (d), an assurance undertaking sh all givewritten notice of the change to the competent authorities of the home
Member State and of the Member State of the branch at least one
month before making the change so that the competent authorities ofthe home Member State and the competent authorities of the MemberState of the branch may fulfil their respective roles under paragraphs 3and 4.
Article 12
Any decision to refuse an authorization shall be accompanied by the
precise grounds for doing so and notified to the undertaking in ques-tion.
Each Member State shall make provision for a right to apply to the
courts should there be any refusal.
Such provision shall also be made with regard to cases where the
competent authorities have not dealt with an application for an author-ization upon the expiry of a period of six months from the date of itsreceipt.
Article 13
1. Without prejudice to paragraphs 3 and 7, no undertaking may be
authorized both pursuant to this Directive and pursuant to Directive 73/
239/EEC.
2. However, Member States may provide that:
— undertakings authorized pursuant to this Directive may also obtain
authorization, in accordance with Article 6 of Directive 73/239/EEC
for the risks listed in classes 1 and 2 in the Annex to that Directive,
— undertakings authorized pursuant to Article 6 of Directive 73/239/
EEC solely for the risks listed in classes 1 and 2 in the Annex tothat Directive may obtain authorization pursuant to this Directive.1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 10
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3. Subject to paragraph6, undertakings referred to in paragraph2
and those which at the time of notification of this Directive carry onsimultaneously both of the activities covered by this Directive and by
Directive 73/239/EEC may continue to do so, provided that each
activity is separately managed in accordance withArticle 14.
4. Member States may provide that the undertakings referred to in
paragraph 2 shall comply with the accounting rules governing under-takings authorized pursuant to this Directive for all of their activities.Pending coordination in this respect, Member States may also providethat, with regard to rules on winding-up, activities relating to the risks
listed in classes 1 and 2 in the Annex to Directive 73/239/EEC carried
on by the undertakings referred to in paragraph 2 shall be governed bythe rules applicable to life assurance activities.
5. Where an undertaking carrying on the activities referred to in the
Annex to Directive 73/239/EEC has financial, commercial or adminis-trative links withan undertaking carrying on th e activities covered bythis Directive, the supervisory authorities of the Member States withinwhose territories the head offices of those undertakings are situated
shall ensure that the accounts of the undertakings in question are not
distorted by agreements between these undertakings or by any arrange-ment which could affect the apportionment of expenses and income.
6. Any Member State may require undertakings whose head offices
are situated in its territory to cease, within a period to be determined bythe Member State concerned, the simultaneous pursuit of activities inwhich they were engaged at the time of notification of this Directive.
7. The provisions of this Article shall be reviewed on the basis of a
report from the Commission to the Council in the light of futureharmonization of the rules on winding-up, and in any case before 31
December 1999.
Article 14
1. The separate management referred to in Article 13 (3) must be
organized in such a way that the activities covered by this Directiveare distinct from the activities covered by the first coordination Direc-tive (non-life insurance) in order that:
— the respective interests of life policy-holders and non-life policy-
holders are not prejudiced and, in particular, that profits from lifeassurance benefit life policy-holders as if the undertaking onlycarried on the activity of life assurance,
— the minimum financial obligations, in particular solvency margins,
in respect of one or other of the two activities, namely an activityunder this Directive and an activity under the first coordinationDirective (non-life insurance) are not borne by the other activity.
However, as long as the minimum financial obligations are fulfilled
under the conditions laid down in the second indent of the first subpar-agraph and, provided the competent authority is informed, the
undertaking may use those explicit items of the solvency margin which
are still available for one or other activity.
The supervisory authorities shall analyze the results in both activities
so as to ensure that the provisions of this paragraph are complied with.
2. (a) Accounts shall be drawn up in such a manner as to show the
sources of the results for each of the two activities, life assur-ance and non-life insurance. To this end all income (inparticular premiums, payments by re-insurers and investmentincome) and expenditure (in particular insurance settlements,additions to technical reserves, reinsurance premiums, operating
expenses in respect of insurance business) shall be broken down
according to origin. Items common to bothactivities sh all beentered in accordance withmeth ods of apportionment to beaccepted by the competent supervisory authority.
(b) Undertakings must, on the basis of the accounts, prepare a state-
ment clearly identifying the items making up each solvency1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 11
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margin, in accordance withArticle 18 of th is Directive and
Article 16 (1) of the first coordination Directive (non-life insur-ance).
3. If one of the solvency margins is insufficient, the supervisory
authorities shall apply to the deficient activity the measures provided
for in the relevant Directive, whatever the results in the other activity.By way of derogation from the second indent of the first subparagraphof paragraph 1, these measures may involve the authorization of atransfer from one activity to the other.
Section B
Conditionsforcarrying onactivities
Article 15
1. The financial supervision of an assurance undertaking, including
that of the business it carries on either through branches or under thefreedom to provide services, shall be the sole responsibility of the
home Member State. If the competent authorities of the Member State
of the commitment have reason to consider that the activities of anassurance undertaking might affect its financial soundness, they shallinform the competent authorities of the undertaking's home MemberState. The latter authorities shall determine whether the undertaking is
complying with the prudential principles laid down in this Directive.
2. That financial supervision shall include verification, with respect
to the assurance undertaking's entire business, of its state of solvency,the establishment of technical provisions, including mathematicalprovisions, and of the assets covering them, in accordance with therules laid down or practices followed in the home Member Statepursuant to the provisions adopted at Community level.
3. The competent authorities of the home Member State shall
require every assurance undertaking to have sound administrative and
accounting procedures and adequate internal control mechanisms.
Article 16
The Member State of the branch shall provide that, where an assurance
undertaking authorized in another Member State carries on businessthrough a branch, the competent authorities of the home Member Statemay, after having first informed the competent authorities of theMember State of the branch, carry out themselves, or through the inter-mediary of persons they appoint for that purpose, on-the-spot
verification of the information necessary to ensure the financial super-
vision of the undertaking. The authorities of the Member State of thebranchmay participate in th at verification.
Article 17
1. The home Member State shall require every assurance under-
taking to establishsufficient tech nical provisions, includingmathematical provisions, in respect of its entire business.
The amount of such technical provisions shall be determined according
to the following principles:
A. (i) The amount of the technical life-assurance provisions shall be
calculated by a sufficiently prudent prospective actuarial valua-
tion, taking account of all future liabilities as determined by
the policy conditions for each existing contract, including:
— all guaranteed benefits, including guaranteed surrender
values,
— bonuses to which policy-holders are already either collec-
tively or individually entitled, however those bonuses are
described — vested, declared or allotted,
— all options available to the policy-holder under the terms of
the contract,1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 12
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— expenses, including commissions;
taking credit for future premiums due;
(ii) the use of a retrospective method is allowed, if it can be shown
that the resulting technical provisions are not lower than wouldbe required under a sufficiently prudent prospective calculation
or if a prospective method cannot be used for the type of
contract involved;
(iii) a prudent valuation is not a ‘best estimate’ valuation, but shall
include an appropriate margin for adverse deviation of the rele-
vant factors;
(iv) the method of valuation for the technical provisions must not
only be prudent in itself, but must also be so having regard tothe method of valuation for the assets covering those provi-
sions;
(v) technical provisions shall be calculated separately for each
contract. The use of appropriate approximations or generaliza-tions is allowed, however, where they are likely to giveapproximately the same result as individual calculations. The
principle of separate calculation shall in no way prevent the
establishment of additional provisions for general risks whichare not individualized;
vi) where the surrender value of a contract is guaranteed, the
amount of the mathematical provisions for the contract at any
time shall be at least as great as the value guaranteed at thattime.
B. The rate of interest used shall be chosen prudently. It shall be deter-
mined in accordance with the rules of the competent authority inthe home Member State, applying the following principles:
(a) for all contracts, the competent authority of the undertaking's
home Member State shall fix one or more maximum rates ofinterest, in particular in accordance withth e following rules:
(i) when contracts contain an interest rate guarantee, the
competent authority in the home Member State shall set a
single maximum rate of interest. It may differ according to
the currency in which the contract is denominated, providedthat it is not more than 60 % of the rate on bond issues bythe State in whose currency the contract is denominated. Inthe case of a contract denominated in ecus, this limit shallbe set by reference to ecu-denominated issues by the
Community institutions.
If a Member State decides, pursuant to the second sentence
of the preceding paragraph, to set a maximum rate ofinterest for contracts denominated in another Member
State's currency, it shall first consult the competent
authority of the Member State in whose currency thecontract is denominated;
(ii) however, when the assets of the undertaking are not valued
at their purchase price, a Member State may stipulate that
one or more maximum rates may be calculated taking into
account the yield on the corresponding assets currentlyheld, minus a prudential margin and, in particular forcontracts withperiodic premiums, furth ermore taking intoaccount the anticipated yield on future assets. The pruden-
tial margin and the maximum rate or rates of interest
applied to the anticipated yield on future assets shall befixed by the competent authority of the home MemberState;
(b) the establishment of a maximum rate of interest shall not imply
that the undertaking is bound to use a rate as high as that;
(c) the home Member State may decide not to apply (a) to the
following categories of contracts:
— unit-linked contracts,1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 13
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— single-premium contracts for a period of up to eight years,
— without-profits contracts, and annuity contracts with nosurrender value.
— without-profits contracts, and annuity contracts with no
surrender value.
In the cases referred to in the last two indents of the first
subparagraph, in choosing a prudent rate of interest, accountmay be taken of the currency in which the contract is denomi-nated and corresponding assets currently held and where theundertaking's assets are valued at their current value, the antici-
pated yield on future assets.
Under no circumstances may the rate of interest used be higher
than the yield on assets as calculated in accordance with the
accounting rules in the home Member State, less an appropriatededuction;
(d) the Member State shall require an undertaking to set aside in its
accounts a provision to meet interest-rate commitments vis-à-vis
policy-holders if the present or foreseeable yield on the under-taking's assets is insufficient to cover those commitments;
(e) the Commission and the competent authorities of the Member
States which so request shall be notified of the maximum ratesof interest set under (a).
C. The statistical elements of the valuation and the allowance for
expenses used shall be chosen prudently, having regard to the State
of the commitment, the type of policy and the administrative costs
and commissions expected to be incurred.
D. In the case of participating contracts, the method of calculation for
technical provisions may take into account, either implicitly orexplicitly, future bonuses of all kinds, in a manner consistent withthe other assumptions on future experience and with the currentmethod of distribution of bonuses.
E. Allowance for future expenses may be made implicitly, for instance
by the use of future premiums net of management charges.
However, the overall allowance, implicit or explicit, shall be not
less than a prudent estimate of the relevant future expenses.
F. The method of calculation of technical provisions shall not be
subject to discontinuities from year to year arising from arbitrary
changes to the method or the bases of calculation and shall besuchas to recognize th e distribution of profits in an appropriateway over the duration of each policy.
2. Assurance undertakings shall make available to the public the
bases and methods used in the calculation of the technical provisions,including provisions for bonuses.
3. The home Member State shall require every assurance under-
taking to cover the technical provisions in respect of its entire
business by matching assets, in accordance with Article 24 of Directive92/96/EEC. In respect of business written in the Community, theseassets must be localized within the Community. Member States shallnot require assurance undertakings to localize their assets in a parti-cular Member State. The home Member State may, however, permit
relaxations in the rules on the localization of assets.
4. If the home Member State allows any technical provisions to be
covered by claims against reassurers, it shall fix the percentage soallowed. In such case, it may not require the localization of the assets
representing suchclaims.
Article 18
1. EachMember State sh all require of every assurance undertaking
whose head office is situated in its territory an adequate availablesolvency margin in respect of its entire business at all times which isat least equal to the requirements in this Directive.1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 14
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2. The available solvency margin shall consist of the assets of the
assurance undertaking free of any foreseeable liabilities, less any intan-gible items, including:
(a) the paid-up share capital or, in the case of a mutual assurance
undertaking, the effective initial fund plus any members' accounts
which meet all the following criteria:
(i) the memorandum and articles of association must stipulate that
payments may be made from these accounts to members onlyin so far as this does not cause the available solvency margin
to fall below the required level, or, after the dissolution of the
undertaking, if all the undertaking's other debts have beensettled;
(ii) the memorandum and articles of association must stipulate,
withrespect to any payments referred to in point (i) forreasons other than the individual termination of membership,that the competent authorities must be notified at least onemonth in advance and can prohibit the payment within thatperiod;
(iii) the relevant provisions of the memorandum and articles of
association may be amended only after the competent authori-ties have declared that they have no objection to the
amendment, without prejudice to the criteria stated in points
(i) and (ii);
(b) reserves (statutory and free) not corresponding to underwriting
liabilities;
(c) the profit or loss brought forward after deduction of dividends to be
paid;
(d) in so far as authorised under national law, profit reserves appearing
in the balance sheet where they may be used to cover any losseswhich may arise and where they have not been made available for
distribution to policy holders.
The available solvency margin shall be reduced by the amount of its
own shares directly held by the assurance undertaking.
3. The available solvency margin may also consist of:
(a) cumulative preferential share capital and subordinated loan capital
up to 50 % of the lesser of the available solvency margin and the
required solvency margin, no more than 25 % of which shall
consist of subordinated loans witha fixed maturity, or fixed-termcumulative preferential share capital, provided in the event of thebankruptcy or liquidation of the assurance undertaking, bindingagreements exist under which the subordinated loan capital or
preferential share capital ranks after the claims of all other cred-
itors and is not to be repaid until all other debts outstanding at thetime have been settled.
Subordinated loan capital must also fulfil the following conditions:
(i) only fully paid-up funds may be taken into account;
(ii) for loans witha fixed maturity, th e original maturity must be
at least five years. No later than one year before the repaymentdate the assurance undertaking must submit to the competent
authorities for their approval a plan showing how the available
solvency margin will be kept at or brought to the requiredlevel at maturity, unless the extent to which the loan mayrank as a component of the available solvency margin isgradually reduced during at least the last five years before the
repayment date. The competent authorities may authorise the
early repayment of suchloans provided application is madeby the issuing assurance undertaking and its available solvencymargin will not fall below the required level;
(iii) loans the maturity of which is not fixed must be repayable
only subject to five years' notice unless the loans are no longerconsidered as a component of the available solvency margin orunless the prior consent of the competent authorities is specifi-cally required for early repayment. In the latter event the1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 15
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assurance undertaking must notify the competent authorities at
least six months before the date of the proposed repayment,specifying the available solvency margin and the required
solvency margin both before and after that repayment. The
competent authorities shall authorise repayment only if theassurance undertaking's available solvency margin will notfall below the required level;
(iv) the loan agreement must not include any clause providing that
in specified circumstances, other than the winding-up of the
assurance undertaking, the debt will become repayable before
the agreed repayment dates;
(v) the loan agreement may be amended only after the competent
authorities have declared that they have no objection to theamendment;
(b) securities withno specified maturity date and oth er instruments,
including cumulative preferential shares other than those mentionedin point (a), up to 50 % of the lesser of the available solvency
margin and the required solvency margin for the total of such secu-
rities and the subordinated loan capital referred to in point (a)provided they fulfil the following:
(i) they may not be repaid on the initiative of the bearer or
without the prior consent of the competent authority;
(ii) the contract of issue must enable the assurance undertaking to
defer the payment of interest on the loan;
(iii) the lender's claims on the assurance undertaking must rank
entirely after those of all non-subordinated creditors;
(iv) the documents governing the issue of the securities must
provide for the loss-absorption capacity of the debt and unpaid
interest, while enabling the assurance undertaking to continueits business;
(v) only fully paid-up amounts may be taken into account.
4. Upon application, withsupporting evidence, by th e undertaking to
the competent authority of the home Member State and with the agree-
ment of that competent authority, the available solvency margin may
also consist of:
(a) until 31 December 2009 an amount equal to 50 % of the undertak-
ing's future profits, but not exceeding 25 % of the lesser of theavailable solvency margin and the required solvency margin. The
amount of the future profits shall be obtained by multiplying the
estimated annual profit by a factor which represents the averageperiod left to run on policies. The factor used may not exceed 6.The estimated annual profit shall not exceed the arithmeticalaverage of the profits made over the last five financial years in
the activities listed in point 1 of Article 1.
Competent authorities may only agree to include such an amount
for the available solvency margin:
(i) when an actuarial report is submitted to the competent authori-
ties substantiating the likelihood of emergence of these profitsin the future; and
(ii) in so far as that part of future profits emerging from hidden net
reserves referred to in point (c) has not already been taken intoaccount;
(b) where zillmerising is not practised or where, if practised, it is less
than the loading for acquisition costs included in the premium, thedifference between a non-zillmerised or partially zillmerised math-ematical provision and a mathematical provision zillmerised at arate equal to the loading for acquisition costs included in the
premium. This figure may not, however, exceed 3,5 % of the sum
of the differences between the relevant capital sums of life assur-ance activities and the mathematical provisions for all policies forwhich zillmerising is possible. The difference shall be reduced bythe amount of any undepreciated acquisition costs entered as anasset;1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 16
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(c) any hidden net reserves arising out of the valuation of assets, in so
far as suchh idden net reserves are not of an exceptional nature;
(d) one half of the unpaid share capital or initial fund, once the paid-up
part amounts to 25 % of that share capital or fund, up to 50 % ofthe lesser of the available and required solvency margin.
5. 5. Amendments to paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 to take into account
developments that justify a technical adjustment of the elementseligible for the available solvency margin, shall be adopted in accor-
dance withth e procedure laid down in Article 2 of Directive 91/675/
EEC(
1).
Article 19
1. Subject to Article 20, the required solvency margin shall be deter-
mined as laid down in paragraphs 2 to 7 according to the classes ofassurance underwritten.
2. For the kinds of assurance referred to in Article 1(1)(a) and (b)
other than assurances linked to investment funds and for the operationsreferred to in Article 1(3), the required solvency margin shall be equalto the sum of the following two results:
(a) first result:
a 4 % fraction of the mathematical provisions, relating to direct
business and reinsurance acceptance gross of reinsurance cessions
shall be multiplied by the ratio, for the last financial year, of thetotal mathematical provisions net of reinsurance cessions to thegross total mathematical provisions. That ratio may in no case beless than 85 %;
(b) second result:
for policies on which the capital at risk is not a negative figure, a
0,3 % fraction of suchcapital underwritten by th e assurance under-taking shall be multiplied by the ratio, for the last financial year, ofthe total capital at risk retained as the undertaking's liability afterreinsurance cessions and retrocessions to the total capital at risk
gross of reinsurance; that ratio may in no case be less than 50 %.
For temporary assurance on deathof a maximum term of th ree
years the fraction shall be 0,1 %. For such assurance of a term ofmore than three years but not more than five years the above frac-tion shall be 0,15 %.
3. For the supplementary insurance referred to in Article 1(1)(c), the
required solvency margin shall be equal to the required solvency
margin for insurance undertakings as laid down in Article 16a of Direc-tive 73/239/EEC, excluding the provisions of Article 17 of thatDirective.
4. For permanent health insurance not subject to cancellation
referred to in Article 1(1)(d), the required solvency margin shall beequal to:
(a) a 4 % fraction of the mathematical provisions, calculated in
compliance withparagraph2(a) of th is Article; plus
(b) the required solvency margin for insurance undertakings as laid
down in Article 16a of Directive 73/239/EEC, excluding the provi-sions of Article 17 of that Directive. However, the condition
contained in Article 16a(6)(b) of that Directive that a provision be
set up for increasing age may be substituted by a requirement thatthe business be conducted on a group basis.
5. For capital redemption operations referred to in Article 1(2)(b),
the required solvency margin shall be equal to a 4 % fraction of themathematical provisions calculated in compliance with paragraph 2(a)of this Article.1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 17
(1) OJ L 374, 31.12.1991, p. 32.
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6. For tontines, referred to in Article 1(2)(a), the required solvency
margin shall be equal to 1 % of their assets.
7. For assurances covered by Article 1(1)(a) and (b) linked to invest-
ment funds and for the operations referred to in Article 1(2)(c), (d) and(e), the required solvency margin shall be equal to the sum of thefollowing:
(a) in so far as the assurance undertaking bears an investment risk, a
4 % fraction of the technical provisions, calculated in compliance
withparagraph2(a) of th is Article;
(b) in so far as the undertaking bears no investment risk but the alloca-
tion to cover management expenses is fixed for a period exceeding
five years, a 1 % fraction of the technical provisions, calculated incompliance withparagraph2(a) of th is Article;
(c) in so far as the undertaking bears no investment risk and the allo-
cation to cover management expenses is not fixed for a periodexceeding five years, an amount equivalent to 25 % of the lastfinancial year's net administrative expenses pertaining to suchbusi-ness;
(d) in so far as the assurance undertaking covers a death risk, a 0,3 %
fraction of the capital at risk calculated in compliance with para-graph2(b) of th is Article.
Article 20
1. One third of the required solvency margin as specified in Article
19 shall constitute the guarantee fund. This fund shall consist of theitems listed in Article 18(2), (3) and, with the agreement of the compe-tent authority of the home Member State, (4)(c).
2. The guarantee fund may not be less than a minimum of EUR 3
million.
Any Member State may provide for a reduction of one-quarter of the
minimum guarantee fund in the case of mutual associations andmutual-type associations and tontines
Article 20a
1. The amount in euro as laid down in Article 20(2) shall be
reviewed annually starting 20 September 2003, in order to take accountof changes in the European index of consumer prices comprising allMember States as published by Eurostat.
The amount shall be adapted automatically, by increasing the base
amount in euro by the percentage change in that index over the period
between the entry into force of this Directive and the review date androunded up to a multiple of EUR 100000.
If the percentage change since the last adaptation is less than 5 %, no
adaptation shall take place.
2. The Commission shall inform annually the European Parliament
and the Council of the review and the adapted amount referred to inparagraph1
Article 21
1. Member States shall not prescribe any rules as to the choice of
the assets that need not be used as cover for the technical provisionsreferred to in Article 17.
2. Subject to Article 17 (3), Article 24 (1), (2), (3) and (5) and the
second subparagraphof Article 26 (1), Member States sh all not restrain
the free disposal of those assets, whether movable or immovable, thatform part of the assets of authorized assurance undertakings.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not preclude any measures which
Member States, while safeguarding the interests of the lives assured,1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 18
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are entitled to take as owners or members of or partners in the under-
takings in question.
Article 22
1. Member States may not require undertakings to cede part of their
underwriting of activities listed in Article 1 to an organization or orga-nizations designated by national regulations.
2. The Italian Republic shall take all steps to ensure that the require-
ment that undertakings established in its territory cede part of their
underwriting to the ‘Istituto Nazionale di Assicurazioni’ is abolished
no later than 20 November 1994.
Article 23
1. Each Member State shall require every undertaking whose head
office is situated in its territory to produce an annual account, coveringall types of operation, of its financial situation and solvency.
2. Member States shall require assurance undertakings with head
offices within their territories to render periodically the returns,together with statistical documents, which are necessary for thepurposes of supervision. The competent authorities shall provide eachother with any documents and information that are useful for thepurposes of supervision.
3. Every Member State shall take all steps necessary to ensure that
the competent authorities have the powers and means necessary for thesupervision of the business of assurance undertakings with head officeswithin their territories, including business carried on outside those terri-
tories, in accordance with the Council directives governing those
activities and for the purpose of seeing that they are implemented.
These powers and means must, in particular, enable the competent
authorities to:
(a) make detailed enquiries regarding the undertaking's situation and
the whole of its business, inter alia by:
— gathering information or requiring the submission of documents
concerning its assurance business,
— carrying out on-the-spot investigations at the undertaking's
premises;
(b) take any measures, withregard to th e undertaking, its directors or
managers or the persons who control it, that are appropriate and
necessary to ensure that the undertaking's business continues tocomply withth e laws, regulations and administrative provisionswith which the undertaking must comply in each Member Stateand in particular with the scheme of operations in so far as it
remains mandatory, and to prevent or remedy any irregularities
prejudicial to the interests of the assured persons;
(c) ensure that those measures are carried out, if need be by enforce-
ment, where appropriate through judicial channels.
Member States may also make provision for the competent authorities
to obtain any information regarding contracts which are held by inter-
mediaries.
Article 24a
1. Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities have
the power to require a financial recovery plan for those insuranceundertakings where competent authorities consider that policyholders'rights are threatened. The financial recovery plan must as a minimum1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 19
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include particulars or proof concerning for the next three financial
years:
(a) estimates of management expenses, in particular current general
expenses and commissions;
(b) a plan setting out detailed estimates of income and expenditure in
respect of direct business, reinsurance acceptances and reinsurancecessions;
(c) a forecast balance sheet;
(d) estimates of the financial resources intended to cover underwriting
liabilities and the required solvency margin;
(e) the overall reinsurance policy.
2. Where policyholders' rights are threatened because the financial
position of the undertaking is deteriorating, Member States shall ensurethat the competent authorities have the power to oblige insuranceundertakings to have a higher required solvency margin, in order to
ensure that the insurance undertaking is able to fulfil the solvency
requirements in the near future. The level of this higher requiredsolvency margin shall be based on a financial recovery plan referredto in paragraph1.
3. Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities have
the power to revalue downwards all elements eligible for the availablesolvency margin, in particular, where there has been a significantchange in the market value of these elements since the end of the last
financial year.
4. Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities have
the powers to decrease the reduction, based on reinsurance, to the
solvency margin as determined in accordance withArticle 19 wh ere:
(a) the nature or quality of reinsurance contracts has changed signifi-
cantly since the last financial year;
(b) there is no or an insignificant risk transfer under the reinsurance
contracts.
5. If the competent authorities have required a financial recovery
plan for the insurance undertaking in accordance with paragraph 1,
they shall refrain from issuing a certificate in accordance with Article
10(3)(2) of this Directive, Article 14(1)(a) of Council Directive 90/619/EEC(
1) (second life assurance Directive) and Article 11(2) of Council
Directive 92/96/EEC(2) (third life assurance Directive) as long as they
consider that policyholders' rights are threatened within the meaning ofparagraph1.
Article 24
1. If an undertaking does not comply withArticle 17, th e competent
authority of its home Member State may prohibit the free disposal ofits assets after having communicated its intention to the competent
authorities of the Member States of commitment.
2. For the purposes of restoring the financial situation of an under-
taking the solvency margin of which has fallen below the minimum
required under Article 19, the competent authority of the homeMember State shall require that a plan for the restoration of a soundfinancial position be submitted for its approval.
In exceptional circumstances, if the competent authority is of the
opinion that the financial situation of the undertaking will further dete-riorate, it may also restrict or prohibit the free disposal of the1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 20
(1) OJ L 330, 29.11.1990, p. 50. Directive as last amended by Directive 92/96/
EEC (OJ L 360, 9.12.1992, p. 1).
(2) OJ L 360, 9.12.1992, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2000/64/
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undertaking's assets. It shall inform the authorities of other Member
States within the territories of which the undertaking carries on busi-ness of any measures it has taken and the latter shall, at the request of
the former, take the same measures.
3. If the solvency margin falls below the guarantee fund as defined
in Article 20, the competent authority of the home Member State shallrequire the undertaking to submit a short-term finance scheme for itsapproval.
It may also restrict or prohibit the free disposal of the undertaking's
assets. It shall inform the authorities of other Member States within
the territories of which the undertaking carries on business accordingly
and the latter shall, at the request of the former, take the samemeasures.
4. The competent authorities may further take all measures neces-
sary to safeguard the interests of the assured persons in the casesprovided for in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.
5. Each Member State shall take the measures necessary to be able
in accordance with its national law to prohibit the free disposal of
assets located within its territory at the request, in the cases providedfor in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, of the undertaking's home Member State,which shall designate the assets to be covered by such measures.
Section C
Withdrawalofauthorization
Article 26
1. Authorization granted to an assurance undertaking by the compe-
tent authority of its home Member State may be withdrawn by thatauthority if that undertaking:
(a) does not make use of the authorization within 12 months, expressly
renounces it or ceases to carry on business for more than sixmonths, unless the Member State concerned has made provision
for authorization to lapse in such cases;
(b) no longer fulfils the conditions for admission;
(c) has been unable, within the time allowed, to take the measures
specified in the restoration plan or finance scheme referred to in
Article 24;
(d) fails seriously in its obligations under the regulations to which it is
subject.
In the event of the withdrawal or lapse of the authorization, the compe-
tent authority of the home Member State shall notify the competent
authorities of the other Member States accordingly and they shall takeappropriate measures to prevent the undertaking from commencing newoperations within their territories, under either the freedom of establish-ment or the freedom to provide services. The home Member State's
competent authority shall, in conjunction with those authorities, take
all necessary measures to safeguard the interests of the assured personsand shall restrict, in particular, the free disposal of the assets of theundertaking in accordance withArticle 24 (1), (2), second subpara-graph, or (3), second subparagraph.
2. Any decision to withdraw an authorization shall be supported by
precise reasons and notified to the undertaking in question.1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 21
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TITLE III A
RULES APPLICABLE TO AGENCIES OR BRANCHES ESTABLISHED
WITHIN THE COMMUNITY AND BELONGING TO UNDERTAKINGS
WHOSEHEADOFFICESAREOUTSIDETHECOMMUNITY
Article 27
1. Each Member State shall make access to the activities referred to
in Article 1 by any undertaking whose head office is outside theCommunity subject to an official authorization.
2. A Member State may grant an authorization if the undertaking
fulfils at least the following conditions:
(a) it is entitled to undertake insurance activities covered by Article 1
under its national law;
(b) it establishes an agency or branch in the territory of such Member
State;
(c) it undertakes to establish at the place of management of the agency
or branch accounts specific to the activity which it carries on thereand to keep there all the records relating to the business transacted;
(d) it designates a general representative, to be approved by the
competent authorities;
(e) it possesses in the Member State where it carries on an activity
assets of an amount equal in value to at least one half of theminimum amount prescribed in Article 20 (2) (a) in respect of theguarantee fund and deposits one fourthof th e minimum amount as
security;
(f) it undertakes to keep a solvency margin complying withArticle 29;
(g) it submits a scheme of operations in accordance with Article 11 (1)
and (2).
Article 28
Member States shall require undertakings to establish reserves, referred
to in Article 17, adequate to cover the underwriting liabilities assumed
in their territories. Member States shall see that the agency or branch
covers suchreserves by means of assets wh ichare equivalent to suchreserves and, to the extent fixed by the Member State in question,matching assets.
The law of the Member States shall be applicable to the calculation of
such reserves, the determination of categories of investment and thevaluation of assets, and, where appropriate, the determination of the
extent to which these assets may be used for the purpose of covering
suchreserves.
The Member State in question shall require that the assets covering
these reserves, shall be localized in its territory. Article 17 (3) shall,however, apply.
Article 29
1. Each Member State shall require of agencies or branches set up in
its territory a solvency margin consisting of the items listed in Article18. The minimum solvency margin shall be calculated in accordancewith Article 19. However, for the purpose of calculating this margin,
account shall be taken only of the operations effected by the agency
or branchconcerned.
2. One third of the minimum solvency margin shall constitute the
guarantee fund.
However, the amount of this fund may not be less than one half of the
minimum required under Article 20 (2) (a). The initial deposit lodgedin accordance withArticle 27 (2) (e) sh all be counted towards suchguarantee fund.1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 22
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The guarantee fund and the minimum of such fund shall be constituted
in accordance withArticle 20.
3. The assets representing the minimum solvency margin must be
kept within the Member State where activities are carried on up to theamount of the guarantee fund and the excess within the Community.
Article 30
1. Any undertaking which has requested or obtained authorization
from more than one Member State may apply for the following advan-
tages which may be granted only jointly:
(a) the solvency margin referred to in Article 29 shall be calculated in
relation to the entire business which it carries on within theCommunity; in such case, account shall be taken only of the opera-tions effected by all the agencies or branches established within the
Community for the purposes of this calculation;
(b) the deposit required under Article 27 (2) (e) shall be lodged in only
one of those Member States;
(c) the assets representing the guarantee fund shall be localized in any
one of the Member States in which it carries on its activities.
2. Application to benefit from the advantages provided for in para-
graph 1 shall be made to the competent authorities of the Member
States concerned. The application must state the authority of theMember State which in future is to supervise the solvency of the entirebusiness of the agencies or branches established within the Community.Reasons must be given for the choice of authority made by the under-
taking. The deposit shall be lodged with that Member State.
3. The advantages provided for in paragraph 1 may only be granted
if the competent authorities of all Member States in which an applica-tion has been made agree to them. They shall take effect from the timewhen the selected supervisory authority informs the other supervisory
authorities that it will supervise the state of solvency of the entire busi-
ness of the agencies or branches within the Community.
The supervisory authority selected shall obtain from the other Member
States the information necessary for the supervision of the overallsolvency of the agencies and branches established in their territory.
4. At the request of one or more of the Member States concerned,
the advantages granted under this Article shall be withdrawn simulta-neously by all Member States concerned.
Article 31
1. (a) Subject to point (b), agencies and branches referred to in this
Title may not simultaneously carry on in a Member State the
activities referred to in the Annex to the first coordination
Directive (non-life insurance) and those covered by this Direc-tive.
(b) Subject to point (c), Member States may provide that agencies
and branches referred to in this Title which at the time of noti-fication of this Directive carry on both activities simultaneouslyin a Member State may continue to do so there provided thateachactivity is separately managed in accordance withArticle
14.
(c) Any Member State which under Article 13 (6) (a) and (b)
requires undertakings established in its territory to cease the
simultaneous pursuit of the activities in which they are engaged
at the time of notification of this Directive must also impose thisrequirement on agencies and branches referred to in this Titlewhich are established in its territory and simultaneously carryon bothactivities th ere.
(d) Member States may provide that agencies and branches referred
to in this Title whose head office simultaneously carries on bothactivities and which at the time of notification of this Directivecarry on in the territory of a Member State solely the activity1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 23
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covered by this Directive may continue their activity there. If
the undertaking wishes to carry on the activity referred to inthe first coordination Directive (non-life insurance) in that terri-
tory it may only carry on the activity covered by this Directive
through a subsidiary.
2. Articles 23 and 24 shall apply mutatis mutandis to agencies and
branches referred to in this Title.
For the purposes of applying Article 24, the supervisory authority
which supervises the overall solvency of agencies or branches shall be
treated in the same way as the supervisory authority of the head-officeMember State.
3. In the case of a withdrawal of authorization by the authority
referred to in Article 30 (2), this authority shall notify the supervisoryauthorities of the other Member States where the undertaking operatesand the latter authorities shall take the appropriate measures. If thereason for the withdrawal of authorization is the inadequacy of thesolvency margin calculated in accordance withArticle 30 (1) (a), th e
supervisory authorities of the other Member States concerned shall
also withdraw their authorizations.
Article 31a
1. Under the conditions laid down by national law, each Member
State shall authorize agencies and branches set up within its territoryand covered by this Title to transfer all or part of their portfolios ofcontracts to an accepting office established in the same Member State
if the competent authorities of that Member State or, if appropriate,
those of the Member State referred to in Article 30 certify that aftertaking the transfer into account the accepting office possesses thenecessary solvency margin.
2. Under the conditions laid down by national law, each Member
State shall authorize agencies and branches set up within its territoryand covered by this Title to transfer all or part of their portfolios ofcontracts to an assurance undertaking with a head office in anotherMember State if the competent authorities of that Member State certify
that after taking the transfer into account the accepting office possesses
the necessary solvency margin.
3. If under the conditions laid down by national law a Member State
authorizes agencies and branches set up within its territory and covered
by this Title to transfer all or part of their portfolios of contracts to anagency or branch covered by this Title and set up within the territory ofanother Member State it shall ensure that the competent authorities ofthe Member State of the accepting office or, if appropriate, of the
Member State referred to in Article 30 certify that after taking the
transfer into account the accepting office possesses the necessarysolvency margin, that the law of the Member State of the acceptingoffice permits such a transfer and that the State has agreed to thetransfer.
4. In the circumstances referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 the
Member State in which the transferring agency or branch is situatedshall authorize the transfer after obtaining the agreement of the compe-
tent authorities of the Member State of the commitment, where
different from the Member State in which the transferring agency orbranchis situated.
5. The competent authorities of the Member States consulted shall
give their opinion or consent to the competent authorities of the homeMember State of the transferring assurance undertaking within threemonths of receiving a request; the absence of any response from theauthorities consulted within that period shall be considered equivalentto a favourable opinion or tacit consent.
6. A transfer authorized in accordance with this Article shall be
published as laid down by national law in the Member State of thecommitment. Suchtransfers sh all automatically be valid against1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 24
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policy-holders, assured persons and any other persons having rights or
obligations arising out of the contracts transferred.
This provision shall not affect the Member States' right to give policy-
holders the opinion of cancelling contracts within a fixed period after atransfer.
Article 32
The Community may, by means of agreements concluded pursuant to
the Treaty with one or more third countries, agree to the application
of provisions different from those provided for in this Title, for the
purpose ensuring, under conditions of reciprocity, adequate protectionfor policy-holders in the Member States.
TITLE III B
RULES APPLICABLE TO SUBSIDIARIES OF PARENT UNDERTAK-
INGS GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF A THIRD COUNTRY AND TO
ACQUISITIONSOFHOLDINGSBYSUCHPARENTUNDERTAKINGS
Article 32a
The competent authorities of the Member States shall inform the
Commission:
(a) of any authorization of a direct of indirect subsidiary one or more
parent undertakings of which are governed by the laws of a third
country. The Commission shall inform the Committee referred toin Article 32b (6) accordingly;
(b) whenever such a parent undertaking acquires a holding in a
Community insurance undertaking which would turn the latter intoits subsidiary. The Commission shall inform the Committeereferred to in Article 32b (6) accordingly.
When authorization is granted to the direct or indirect subsidiary of one
or more parent undertakings governed by the law of third countries, thestructure of the groupe shall be specified in the notification which the
competent authorities shall address to the Commission.
Article 32b
1. The Member States shall inform the Commission of any general
difficulties encountered by their insurance undertakings in establishingthemselves or carrying on their activities in a third country.
2. Initially no later than six months before the date referred to in the
second paragraphof Article 30 of Directive 90/619/EEC(
1), and there-
after periodically, the Commission shall draw up a report examiningthe treatment accorded to Community insurance undertakings in thirdcountries, in the terms referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, as regards
establishment and the carrying on of insurance activities, and the acqui-
sition of holdings in third-country insurance undertakings. TheCommission shall submit those reports to the Council, together withany appropriate proposals.
3. Whenever it appears to the Commission, either on the basis of the
reports referred to in paragraph 2 or on the basis of other information,that a third country is not granting Community insurance undertakingseffective market access comparable to that granting Community to
insurance undertakings effective market access comparable to that
granted by the Community to insurance undertakings from that thirdcountry, the Commission may submit proposals to the Council for theappropriate mandate for negotiation witha view to obtaining compar-able competitive opportunities for Community insurance undertakings.The Council shall decide by a qualified majority.1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 25
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4. Whenever it appears to the Commission, either on the basis of the
reports referred to in paragraph 2 or on the basis of other information,that Community insurance undertakings in a third country are not
receiving national treatment offering the same competitive opportu-
nities as are available to domestic insurance undertakings and that theconditions of effective market access are not being fulfilled, theCommission may initiate negotiations in order to remedy the situation.
In the circumstances described in the first subparagraph, it may also be
decided at any time, and in addition to initiating negociations, in accor-dance with the procedure laid down in Article 32b (6), that the
competent authorities of the Member States must limit or suspend their
decisions:
— regarding requests pending at the moment of the decision or future
requests for authorizations, and
— regarding the acquisition of holdings by direct or indirect parent
undertakings governed by the laws of the third country in question.
The duration of the measures referred to may not exceed three months.
Before the end of that three-month period, and in the light of the
results of the negotiations, the Council may, acting on a proposal
from the Commission, decide by a qualified majority whether themeasures shall be continued.
Suchlimitations or suspension may not apply to th e setting up of subsi-
diaries by insurance undertakings or their subsidiaries duly authorizedin the Community, or to the acquisition of holdings in Communityinsurance undertakings by suchundertakings or subsidiaries.
5. Whenever it appears to the Commission that one of the situations
described in paragraphs 3 and 4 has arisen, the Member States shallinform it at its request:
(a) of any request for the authorization of a direct or indirect
subsidiary one or more parent undertakings of which are governed
by the laws of the third country in question;
(b) of any plans for suchan undertaking to acquire a h olding in a
Community insurance undertaking such that the latter wouldbecome the subsidiary of the former.
This obligation to provide information shall lapse whenever an agree-
ment is reached with the third country referred to in paragraph 3 or 4when the measures referred to in the second and third subparagraphs ofparagraph4 cease to apply.
6. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee composed of
the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representa-
tive of the Commission.
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a
draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its
opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may laydown according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall bedelivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treatyin the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on aproposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the
Member States within the committee shall be weighted in the manner
set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in
accordance with the opinion of the committee.
If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the
committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, withoutdelay, submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to betaken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If, on the expiry of a period to be laid down in each act to be adopted
by the Council under this paragraph but which may in no case exceedthree months from the date of referral to the Council, the Council hasnot acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission,1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 26
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save where the Council has decided against the said measures by a
simple majority.
7. Measures taken under this Article shall comply with the Commu-
nity's obligations under any international agreements, bilateral or
multilateral, governing the taking-up and pursuit of the business ofinsurance undertakings.
TITLE IV
TRANSITIONALANDOTHERPROVISIONS
Article 33
1. Member States shall allow undertakings referred to in Title II
which at the entry into force of the implementing measures to this
Directive provide insurance in their territories in one or more of theclasses referred to in the Annex, a period of five years from the dateof notification of this Directive in order to comply with Articles 18,19 and 20.
2. Furthermore, Member States may:
(a) allow any undertakings referred to in paragraph 1, which upon the
expiry of the five-year period have not fully established the
solvency margin, a further period not exceeding two years in which
to do so provided that such undertakings have, in accordance withArticle 24, submitted for the approval of the supervisory authoritythe measures which they propose to take for such purpose;
(b) except for the mutual associations referred to in the second
sentence of the second indent of Article 3 (2), exempt undertakingsreferred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, for which upon the expiryof the five-year period the solvency margin to be establishedpursuant to Article 19 without deduction for re-insurance does not
reach the minimum of the guarantee fund referred to in Article 20
(2) (a) and (b), from the requirement to establish this fund beforethe end of the financial year in respect of which the solvencymargin referred to reaches this minimum amount.
The maximum period thus granted to these undertakings to estab-
lish this minimum amount shall in no case exceed 10 years from
the date of notification of this Directive.
3. Undertakings desiring to extend their business within the meaning
of Article 8 (2) or 10 may not do so unless they comply immediatelywith the rules of this Directive.
4. Undertakings having a structure different from any of those listed
in Article 8 may continue, for a period of three years from the notifica-
tion of this Directive, to carry on their present business in the legal
form in which they are constituted at the time of such notification.Undertakings set up in the United Kingdom by Royal Charter or byprivate Act or by special Public Act may carry on their activity in theirpresent form for an unlimited period.
The Member States in question shall draw up a list of such undertak-
ings and communicate it to the other Member States and the
Commission.
5. Undertakings which, in accordance with their objects, carry on
the activities of life assurance and savings operations may continue tocarry on suchactivities, withth e exception of savings operations,which must cease within three years from the date of notification ofthis Directive. As an exception, the ‘Caisse générale d'épargne et de
retraite (CGER)’/ ‘Algemene Spoor- en Lifrentekas (ASLK)’ in
Belgium, the societies registered under the Friendly Societies Acts inthe United Kingdom and the ‘Banca nazionale delle communicazioni’in Italy may continue the activities they were carrying on when theDirective was notified.
6. Undertakings which carry on simultaneously both activities in
accordance with the terms of Article 13 shall have a period of five1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 27
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years from the date of notification of this Directive to comply with the
provisions of Article 14.
7. At the request of undertakings which comply with the require-
ments of Articles 17 to 20, Member States shall cease to apply anyrestrictive measures suchas th ose relating to mortgages, deposits orsecurities established under their present regulations.
Article 34
Member States shall allow agencies or branches referred to in Title III
which, at the entry into force of the implementing measures to thisDirective, are carrying on one or more classes referred to in Annex I
and which do not extend their business within the meaning of Article
10 (2), a maximum period of five years from the date of notification ofthis Directive in order to comply with the conditions in Article 29.
Article 36
During a period which terminates at the time of the entry into force of
an agreement concluded witha th ird country pursuant to Article 32,and at the latest upon the expiry of a period of four years after the noti-fication of this Directive, each Member State may retain forundertakings of that country established in its territory the rules appliedto them on 1 January 1979 in respect of matching assets and the loca-
lization of technical reserves, including mathematical reserves,
provided that notification is given to the other Member States and theCommission and that the limits of relaxations granted pursuant toArticle 17 (2) in favour of the undertakings of Member States estab-lished in its territory are not exceeded.
Article 37
1. Where a Member State requires of its own nationals proof of
good repute and proof of no previous bankruptcy, or proof of either ofthese, that State shall accept as sufficient evidence in respect of
nationals of other Member States the production of an extract from
the ‘judicial record’ or, failing this, of an equivalent document issuedby a competent judicial or administrative authority in the Member Stateof origin or the Member State whence the foreign national comesshowing that these requirements have been met.
2. Where the Member State of origin or the Member State whence
the foreign national concerned comes does not issue the documentreferred to in paragraph1, it may be replaced by a declaration onoath — or in States where there is no provision for declaration on
oathby a solemn declaration — made by th e person concerned before
a competent judicial or administrative authority or, where appropriate,a notary in the Member State of origin or the Member State whencethat person comes; such authority or notary shall issue a certificateattesting the authenticity of the declaration on oath or solemn declara-tion. The declaration in respect of no previous bankruptcy may also be
made before a competent professional or trade body in the said
country.
3. Documents issued in accordance withparagraph s 1 and 2 must
not be produced more than three months after their date of issue.
4. Member States shall, within the time limit of 18 months from the
date of notification of this Directive, designate the authorities andbodies competent to issue the documents referred to in paragraphs 1and 2 shall forthwith inform the other Member States and the Commis-
sion thereof.
Within the same time limit, each Member State shall also inform the
other Member States and the Commission of the authorities or bodiesto which the documents referred to in this Article are to be submitted1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 28
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in support of an application to carry on in the territory of this Member
State the activities referred to in Article 1.
TITLE V
FINALPROVISIONS
Article 38
The Commission and the competent authorities of the Member States
shall collaborate closely for the purpose of facilitating supervision ofdirect insurance within the Community and of examining any difficul-ties which might arise in the application of this Directive.
Article 39
1. The Commission shall submit to the Council, within six years
from the date of notification of this Directive, a report dealing withthe effects of the financial requirements imposed by this Directive on
the situation in the insurance markets of the Member States. If neces-
sary, the Commission shall submit interim reports to the Council beforethe end of the transitional period provided for in Article 33 (1).
2. Following a period of 10 years from the notification of this Direc-
tive, the Commission shall submit to the Council a report dealing withthe operations of the two types of undertakings covered by this Direc-
tive: that is to say, those undertakings which carry on simultaneously
the activity covered by the first coordination Directive (non-life insur-ance) in addition to the activity covered by this Directive and thoseundertakings which carry on only the activity covered by this Direc-tive.
3. The Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, shall
every two years examine and, where appropriate, review the amounts
expressed in units of account in this Directive, in the light of how the
Community's economic and monetary situation has evolved. TheCommission shall submit its first proposal in this connection to theCouncil at the time as a proposal concerning non-life insurance, aslaid down in Article 3 of Directive 76/580/EEC(
1), and not later than
four years after the date of notification of this Directive.
Article 40
Member States shall amend their national provisions to comply with
this Directive within 18 months of its notification and shall forthwith
inform the Commission thereof. The provisions thus amended shall,subject to Articles 33 to 36, be applied within 30 months from thedate of notification.
Article 41
Following notification of this Directive, Member States shall communi-
cate the texts of the main provisions of a legislative, regulatory oradministrative nature which they adopt in the field covered by this
Directive to the Commission.
Article 42
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 29
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ANNEX
Classesofinsurance
I. The assurance referred to in Article 1 (1) (a), (b) and (c) excluding those
referred to in II and III
II. Marriage assurance, birthassurance
III. The assurance referred to in Article 1 (1) (a) and (b), which are linked to
investment funds
IV. Permanent health insurance, referred to in Article 1 (1) (d)
V. Tontines, referred to in Article 1 (2) (a)
VI. Capital redemption operations, referred to in Article 1 (2) (b)
VII. Management of group pension funds, referred to in Article 1 (2) (c) and
(d)
VIII. The operations referred to in Article 1 (2) (e)
IX. The operations referred to in Article 1 (3)1979L0267 — EN — 20.03.2002 — 007.001 — 30