In pursuit of that objective, Directive 92/49 provides, first, in Article 4 thereof, that a single authorisation may be sought only from the authorities of the home Member State, Article 6 of that directive laying down the conditions for granting such authorisation, including that of the good repute of the directors of the undertaking concerned. Moreover, it is clear from Article 14 of that directive that it is also for the home Member State to withdraw the authorisation granted to an insurance undertaking which no longer fulfils the conditions for admission or fails seriously in its obligations under the regulations to which it is subject.

In that regard, it is clear, in the first place, from recitals 1, 5 and 6 of that directive that the latter, which aims to complete the internal market in the sector of direct insurance other than life assurance, is based on two principles. Those principles are, first, the creation of a single authorisation which, once granted, allows insurance undertakings to carry on business throughout the European Union and, secondly, the principle of supervision of insurance undertakings by the home Member State.

Council Directive 92/49/EEC of 18 June 1992 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance and amending Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (third non-life insurance Directive) and, in particular, Article 40(6) thereof, must be interpreted as precluding the supervisory authorities of a Member State from taking emergency measures, as against an undertaking providing direct insurance other than life assurance operating in its territory under the freedom to provide services, in order to protect the interests of the insured persons and other persons who may benefit from the insurance cover taken out, such as prohibiting it from concluding new insurance contracts in that territory, on the grounds of the failure, whether pre-existing or otherwise, assessed discretionarily, to satisfy a subjective precondition laid down for the purpose of the issue of authorisation to engage in insurance business, such as the requirement of good repute.

However, that directive does not preclude that Member State, in exercising the prerogatives it has in emergency situations, from establishing whether certain inadequacies or uncertainties relating to the insurance undertaking concerned present a real and imminent danger that irregularities will occur to the detriment of the interests of the insured persons or other persons who may benefit from the insurance cover taken out and, if so, from taking appropriate measures immediately, such as, where appropriate, prohibiting the conclusion of new contracts in its territory. However, to the extent that, as was found in paragraph 42 of this judgment, that directive gives primacy to the principle of supervision of insurance undertakings by the home Member State, the Member State of the provision of services may take, in an emergency, only protective measures. Those measures apply, therefore, only pending a decision by the competent authorities of the home Member State, drawing the conclusions, in the light of the conditions for granting the authorisation, in particular relating to good repute, from the evidence identified by the Member State of the provision of services, as required by the principle of legal certainty which forms part of the EU legal order.

(see paras 52, 53, operative part)