European Parliament resolution on the accounting standards used by third country issuers and their equivalence to IFRS as mentioned in the draft implementing measures of the Prospectus Directive and the Transparency Directive (draft Commission regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 809/2004 as regards the accounting standards in accordance with which historical information contained in prospectuses is drawn up, and draft Commission decision on the use by third country issuers of securities of information prepared under internationally accepted accounting standards)
Date: 2006-10-24
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: accounting, dissemination of information, financial market, international standard, official market, securities, third country

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Tuesday 24 October 2006

10.
Calls upon the Commission to pay particular regard to the necessary equivalent expectations of third-
country management companies and investment firms and ensure that such firms clearly present the iden-
tification of their competent authority or, if not regulated, clearly state this information;

Expresses the need for Member States to coordinate efforts when setting minimum standards for the

11.
dissemination of information to the public;

12.

Calls upon the Commission to review the standards for effective dissemination of information;

13.

Accepts the implementing measures;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Committee

14.
of European Securities Regulators.

P6_TA(2006)0436

Implementing measures (level 2) of the Prospectus Directive

European Parliament resolution on the accounting standards used by third country issuers and their
equivalence to IFRS as mentioned in the draft implementing measures of the Prospectus Directive
and the Transparency Directive (draft Commission regulation amending Regulation (EC)
No 809/2004 as regards the accounting standards in accordance with which historical information
contained in prospectuses is drawn up, and draft Commission decision on the use by third country
issuers of securities of information prepared under internationally accepted accounting standards)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November
2003 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to
trading (1), in particular Article 7(1) thereof,

— having regard to Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 Decem-
ber 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers
whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market (2), in particular Article 23(4) thereof,

— having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of

19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards (3),

— having regard to the draft Commission regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 809/2004 as regards
the accounting standards in accordance with which historical information contained in prospectuses is
drawn up,

— having regard to the draft Commission decision on the use by third country issuers of securities of

information prepared under internationally accepted accounting standards,

— having regard to Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the
exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission, (4) as amended by Council Decision
2006/512/EC of 17 July 2006 (5),

(1) OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 64.
(2) OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38.
(3) OJ L 243, 11.9.2002, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(5) OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11.

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— having regard to the statement made to Parliament by Commission President Romano Prodi on 5 Feb-

ruary 2002,

— having regard to its resolution of 5 February 2002 on the implementation of financial services legisla-

tion (1) in the context of the Lamfalussy report,

— having regard to the proposed modifications to the draft Commission regulation amending Regulation
(EC) No 809/2004 and the draft implementing decision on the use by third country issuers of securities
of information prepared under internationally accepted accounting standards, adopted by the Commit-
tee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on 4 October 2006,

— having regard to the Commission's answer to those proposed modifications, forwarded to Parliament by
letter of 18 October 2006, addressed to the rapporteurs and the chairwoman of the Committee on
Economic and Monetary Affairs,

— having regard to the Ecofin conclusions of 5 May 2006 stressing the importance of supervision, coor-

dination and convergence within the EU,

— having regard to Rules 81 and 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

1.
Asks the Commission to take the utmost account of the limits of the powers conferred on it by
Directive 2003/71/EC and Directive 2004/109/EC in accordance with the applicable provisions of the
Treaty, in order to ensure legal certainty for financial market actors;

2.
Points out that the draft implementing measures constitute a workable solution for achieving the
objectives of improved operating conditions for investment firms and other trading venues as well as of
efficient, transparent and secure financial markets in the European Union;

3.
Stresses that the work undertaken by Parliament since the publication of the implementing measures
has been stimulated by the need to respect those legislative provisions aimed at achieving a balanced out-
come between competition and transparency for financial markets, stakeholders (shareholders, issuers and
users), regulatory authorities and democratically elected representatives;

4. Welcomes the willingness the Commission has demonstrated in working with Parliament towards
achieving the best possible outcome for all concerned parties; recalls the need to involve and inform Parlia-
ment from the earliest stages of the preparatory work on all level 2 measures;

that

Notes

the procedure regarding the completion of

implementing measures of Directive
5.
2003/71/EC and Directive 2004/109/EC is virtually unprecedented in the way EU legislation is usually
developed; points therefore to the need to achieve a mutually satisfactory outcome for all institutions con-
cerned for the sake of developing the inter-institutional relationship in a positive direction;

6.
Asks the Commission to extend its mandate of 25 June 2004 to the Committee of European Secu-
rities Regulators (CESR), to enable it to promote harmonised treatment of third countries by the competent
national authorities and provide technical advice on the assessment of equivalence of third-country national
standards, other than the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAPs) of the US, Japan and Canada,
to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in so far as the third countries in question are granted
the possibility not to restate the financial statements from 1 January 2007 until 1 January 2009;

7.
Points out that the period from 1 January 2007 to 1 January 2009 should be used by the Commis-
sion to progress or enter into negotiations for the purpose of achieving a convergence between IFRS and
third-country GAAPs; calls on the Commission to present a work programme outlining the negotiations
with third countries as regards the convergence between IFRS and third-country GAAPs to the European
Securities Committee (ESC) and to Parliament;

(1) OJ C 284 E, 21.11.2002, p. 115.

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Stresses that the evaluation of third-country GAAPs should not only be of a technical nature but that

8.
the economic and regulatory context should also be considered;

Asks the Commission to establish a definition of equivalence including a consistent application of
9.
reconciliation requirements applied in the third countries with regard to European issuers under IFRS, and
the requirements considered necessary by a detailed and objective analysis of the differences between third
countries' accounting standards and the IFRS, so as to safeguard the protection of investors.

Considers that, in the absence of agreement on equivalence between the IFRS and the United States
10.
GAAPs on 1 January 2009, this equivalence being defined as stated in paragraph 9, American businesses
established in Europe should use the IFRS standards in full; calls on the Union's other competent authorities
to state their position along these lines;

Expresses dissatisfaction at the inclusion of new measures to further exempt professional securities

11.
for a period of two years at such a late stage in the process and considers it inappropriate;

Accepts the implementing measures, provided that

12.
account by the Commission;

the above-mentioned points are taken into

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Committee

13.
of European Securities Regulators.

P6_TA(2006)0437

Women's immigration

European Parliament resolution on women's immigration: the role and place of immigrant women
in the European Union (2006/2010(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the ILO Convention concerning Migration for Employment (1949), the ILO Conven-
tion concerning Migration in Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and
the Treatment of Migrant Workers (1975) and the International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1990),

— having regard to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women
and Children (2000) and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (2000),
both of which supplement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Crime,

— having regard to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) and the Protocol thereto

relating to the Status of Refugees (1967),

— having regard to the Report of the United Nations Population Fund entitled ‘A Passage to Hope: Women

and International Migration — state of world population 2006’,

— having regard to Council Directive 2004/81/EC of 29 April 2004 on the residence permit issued to
third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings or who have been the subject of
an action to facilitate illegal immigration, who cooperate with the competent authorities (1),

— having regard to Article 13 of the EC Treaty on combating discrimination,

— having regard to Article 63 of the EC Treaty, which confers on the Community powers and compe-

tences in the fields of immigration and asylum,

(1) OJ L 261, 6.8.2004, p. 19.