No C 5/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 7. 1. 83 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Amendment to the proposal for a Council Directive amending, as regards credit 
insurance, First Directive 73/239/EEC on the coordination of laws, regulations and 
administrative provisions relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of direct 
insurance other than life insurance (*) 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 
149 of the EEC Treaty on 17 May 1982) 
ORIGINAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Proposal for a Council Directive amending, as regards 
credit insurance, First Directive 73/239/EEC on the 
coordination of laws, regulations and administrative 
provisions relating to the taking-up and pursuit of the 
business of direct insurance other than life insurance. 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 57 (2) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the 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 of the business of direct 
insurance other than life assurance (2), as amended by 
Directive 76/580/EEC (3), eliminated a number of 
divergencies in the laws of the Member States in 
order to facilitate the taking up and pursuit of that 
business; 
Whereas however the said Directive states in Article 2 
(2) (d) that it does not apply, 'pending further Proposal for a Council Directive amending, as regards 
credit insurance and suretyship insurance, First 
Directive 73/239/EEC on the coordination of laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions relating to 
the taking up and pursuit of the business of direct 
insurance other than life insurance. 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
(') OJ No C 245, 29. 9. 1979, p. 7. 
(2) OJ No L 228, 16. 8. 1973, p. 3. 
(J) OJ No L 189, 13. 7. 1976, p. 13. 
7. 1.83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 5/3 
ORIGINAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
coordination, which shall be implemented within four 
years of notification of this Directive', to 'export 
credit insurance operations for the account of or with 
the support of the State'; 
Whereas, since the protection of insured persons 
normally provided by the Directive is provided by the 
State itself where export credit insurance operations 
are carried out for the account of or with the 
guarantee of the State, such operations should 
continue to be excluded from the scope of the said 
Directive; Whereas — as regards export credit insurance 
operations — free competition should be guaranteed 
between public and private sector undertakings; 
Whereas the risks covered by export credit insurance 
in trade relations within the Community are not of a 
different economic kind from those covered by credit 
insurance for transactions within the domestic market 
of a Member State; 
Whereas, therefore, in this case credit insurance 
operations for the account of, or guaranteed by, the 
State should be included within the scope of this 
Directive; 
Whereas — as regards export credit insurance 
operations in the context of trade relations between 
Member States and third countries — further coordi­
nation of national provisions is required to achieve a 
common export policy which is essential to the 
common commercial policy; 
Whereas the said Directive states in Article 7 (2) (c) Unchanged 
that 'pending further coordination, which must be 
implemented within four years of notification of this 
Directive, the Federal Republic of Germany may 
maintain the provision prohibiting the simultaneous 
undertaking in its territory of health insurance, credit 
and surety insurance or insurance in respect of 
recourse against third parties and legal defence, either 
with one another or with other classes'; whereas it 
follows from this that there are barriers to the 
establishment under normal conditions of competition 
of agencies and branches transacting credit and 
suretyship insurance; whereas the present Directive is 
intended to remedy this situation; 
Whereas the interests of insured persons are Unchanged 
sufficiently safeguarded, as regards suretyship 
insurance, by the provisions of the said Directive; 
whereas the prohibition in the Federal Republic of 
Germany on the simultaneous undertaking of 
suretyship insurance and other classes is therefore not 
justified and should be lifted; 
Whereas in view of the cyclical nature of claims in Unchanged 
credit insurance, the latter should, for the purposes of 
calculating the average burden of claims within the 
meaning of Article 16 (2) of the said Directive, be 
treated on the same basis as insurance against storm, 
hail and from risks; 
Whereas the nature of the risk in credit insurance is Unchanged 
such that undertakings which transact such business 
No C 5/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 7. 1.83 
ORIGINAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
ought to form a higher guarantee fund than is at 
present provided for in Directive 73/239/EEC; 
Whereas credit insurance undertakings require an 
equalization reserve which does not form part of the 
solvency margin and which is not liable to tax; 
Whereas moreover certain provisions are necessary as 
regards the accounts undertakings which carry on 
credit insurance business; 
Whereas however certain obligations imposed upon Unchanged 
undertakings which carry on credit insurance business 
are not necessary for undertakings whose operations 
do not exceed a certain volume; whereas it is appro­
priate to grant them a period of three years to meet 
these obligations from the time when they exceed 
such volume; whereas it is also appropriate to grant 
to undertakings whose operations exceed such 
volume at the date of notification of this Directive a 
period of three years to meet those obligations; 
Whereas, in view of the provisions laid down in Unchanged 
respect of credit insurance, the maintenance by the 
Federal Republic of Germany of the prohibition of 
the simultaneous undertaking of credit insurance and 
other classes is no longer justified, and such 
prohibition should therefore be removed, Whereas insurance undertakings whose credit 
insurance business amounts to more than a small pro­
portion of their total business require an equalization 
reserve which does not form part of the solvency 
margin and which is not liable to tax; 
Unchanged 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
Council Directive 73/239/EEC is hereby amended as 
follows: 
1. Article 2 (2) (d), shall be replaced by the 
following: 
'Export credit insurance operations for the account 
of or with the guarantee of the State.' 
Article 2 
1. Undertakings shall set up an equalization 
reserve for the class of insurance listed under No 
14 in Point A of the Annex to Directive 
73/239/EEC (hereafter referred to as 'credit 
insurance'). Such reserve shall each year receive 
75 % of the technical surplus, if any, of that 
financial year. The amount involved may not, 
however, exceed 12 % of the net premiums or 
contributions for the same financial year. Such 
transfer shall no longer be obligatory when the 
reserves have reached 150 % of the highest annual Article 1 
Council Directive 73/239/EEC is hereby amended as 
follows: 
1. Article 2 (2) (d) shall be replaced by the following: 
'(d) pending further coordination, export credit 
insurance operations for the account of or 
guaranteed by the State, where the customer 
of the insured is a national of a non-member 
State.' 
2. Unchanged. 
3. The following Article 15a shall be inserted 
between Article 15 and Article 16: 
'Article 15a 
1. In respect of the risks included in the class of 
insurance listed in point A of the Annex under No 
14 (hereafter referred to as 'credit insurance'), the 
undertaking shall set up an equalization reserve to 
which shall be charged any technical deficit arising 
in that class for a financial year. 
7. 1. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 5/5 
ORIGINAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
amount of net premiums or contributions paid in 
during the last five financial years. 
2. Any technical deficit which may occur for a 
given financial year in credit insurance shall be 
charged to each equalization reserve. 
3. Such equalization reserve, up to the amount 
referre4 to in paragraph 1 shall be disregarded for 
purposes of calculating the solvency margin and 
shall be under exemption from any liability to tax. 
Article 1 
5. The following subparagraph (d) shall be added to 
Article 17(2): 
'(d) Where an undertaking carrying on credit 
insurance is required to raise the fund 
referred to in subparagraph (a) to 1 000 000 
units of account, the Member State concerned 
shall allow such undertaking a period of three 
years in which to carry out such increase. 
The three-year period shall run from the date 
on which the first indent of subparagraph (a) 
becomes applicable to the undertaking. The 
Member States shall determine the manner in 
which this increase is to be carried out.' 2. Such reserve shall in each financial year 
receive 75 % of any technical surplus arising on 
credit insurance business, subject to a limit of 12 % 
of the net premiums or contributions, until the 
reserve has reached 150 % of the highest annual 
amount of net premiums or contributions received 
during the previous five financial years. 
3. Such equalization reserve up to the amount 
referred to in paragraph 2 shall be disregarded for 
purposes of calculating the solvency margin and 
any liability to tax shall be suspended. 
4. The obligation to set up an equalization 
reserve for credit insurance business shall not apply 
to undertakings where the premiums or contri­
butions receivable in respect of credit insurance are 
less than 5 % of the total premiums or contri­
butions receivable by the undertaking.' 
Former Article 1 (3) becomes point 4; otherwise 
unchanged. 
Former Article 1 (4) becomes point 5; otherwise 
unchanged. 
6. The following subparagraph (d) shall be added to 
Article 17(2): 
'(d) where an undertaking carrying on credit 
insurance is required to increase the fund 
referred to in subparagraph (a), first indent, 
to 1 000 000 units of account, the Member 
State concerned shall allow such undertaking 
a period of three years in which to carry out 
such increase; such increase shall be 
implemented progressively. 
The three-year period shall run from the date 
on which the first indent of paragraph (a) 
becomes applicable to the undertaking.' 
(16 words deleted) 
Article 3 
The technical reserves for credit insurance shall be 
shown separately. The accounts of the undertaking 
must be so drawn up that the results of credit 
insurance business can be distinguished. 7. The following paragraph 2 shall be inserted after 
Article 19(1): 
'2. In respect of credit insurance, the accounts 
of the undertaking shall show separately both the 
results and the technical reserves.' 
Article 19 (2) becomes Article 19 (3). 
Former Article 2 becomes Article 1 (3). 
Former Article 3 becomes Article 1 (7). 
No C 5/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 7. 1. 83 
ORIGINAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Article 4 
Member States shall amend their national provisions 
to comply with this Directive within 12 months of its 
notification and shall forthwith inform the 
Commission thereof. They shall apply such amended 
provisions following a period of 18 months from the 
date of such notification. Article 2 
Member States shall adopt the measures necessary to 
comply with this Directive by 31 December 1983. 
They shall inform the Commission thereof 
immediately. 
They shall apply such measures from 1 July 1984. 
Former Article 5 becomes Article 3. 
Former Article 6 becomes Article 4. 
ANNEX 
Draft of letter to the European Parliament 
Sir, 
On 17 October 1980 the European Parliament gave its opinion on the proposal for a Council 
Directive amending, as regards credit insurance, First Directive 73/239/EEC on the coordination of 
laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business 
of direct insurance other than life assurance, which the Commission had submitted to the Council 
on 13 September 1979 ('). 
I have the honour to inform you that the Commission has now submitted to the Council an 
amended proposal (enclosed) in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 149 of the EEC 
Treaty. The amended proposal incorporates most of the amendments suggested by the European 
Parliament. 
O OJ No C 245, 29. 9. 1979, p. 7.