REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II)
Date: 2017-12-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, European Commission
Subjects: delegated legislation, financial control, financial solvency, freedom to provide services, insurance company, insurance law, powers of the institutions (EU), reinsurance, right of establishment, transfer of competence

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 7.12.2017  COM(2017) 740 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II)  
 
 
I. 

Introduction 

The Solvency II Directive1 introduced a sound and robust prudential framework for insurance 
firms in the EU. It is based on the risk profile of each individual insurance company in order 
to promote comparability, transparency and competitiveness. 

This Directive was amended by: 

  Directive 2011/89/EU (FICOD)2; 
  Directive 2012/23/EU3; 
  Council Directive 2013/23/EU4; 
  Directive 2013/585; and 
  Directive 2014/51/EU (the Omnibus II Directive)6. 

II.  Legal basis 

This  report  is  required  under  Article  301a(2)  of  the  Solvency  II  Directive.  Pursuant  to  this 
provision, the delegation of power referred to in Articles 17, 31, 35, 37, 50, 56, 75, 86, 92, 97, 
99, 109a, 111, 114, 127, 130, 135, 143, 172, 210, 211, 216, 217, 227, 234, 241, 244, 245, 247, 
248, 256, 258, 260 and 308b is conferred on the Commission for a period of four years from 
23 May 2014.  

The Commission is required to draw up a report in respect of those delegated powers at the 
latest  six  months  before  the  end  of  that  four-year  period.  This  report  therefore  covers  those 
delegated powers falling within the scope of Article 301a. It does not cover the delegations of 
powers set out in Article 301b. 

1 Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the taking-up 
and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II), OJ L 335, 17.12.2009, p. 1. 
2  Directive  2011/89/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  November  2011  amending 
Directives  98/78/EC,  2002/87/EC,  2006/48/EC  and  2009/138/EC  as  regards  the  supplementary  supervision  of 
financial entities in a financial conglomerate, OJ L 326, 8.12.2011, p. 113. 
3  Directive  2013/58/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  December  2013  amending 
Directive 2009/138/EC (Solvency II) as regards the date for its transposition and the date of its application, and 
the date of repeal of certain Directives (Solvency I), OJ L 341, 18.12.2013, p. 1. 
4 Council Directive 2013/23/EU of 13 May 2013 adapting certain directives in the field of financial services, by 
reason of the accession of the Republic of Croatia, OJ L 158, 10.6.2013, p. 362. 
5  Directive  2013/58/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  December  2013  amending 
Directive 2009/138/EC (Solvency II) as regards the date for its transposition and the date of its application, and 
the date of repeal of certain Directives (Solvency I), OJ L 341, 18.12.2013, p. 1. 
6 Directive 2014/51/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Directives 
2003/71/EC  and  2009/138/EC  and  Regulations  (EC)  No  1060/2009,  (EU)  No  1094/2010  and  (EU)  No 
1095/2010  in  respect  of  the  powers  of  the  European  Supervisory  Authority  (European  Insurance  and 
Occupational  Pensions  Authority)  and  the  European  Supervisory  Authority  (European  Securities  and  Markets 
Authority), OJ L 153, 22.5.2014, p. 1. 

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III.  Exercise of the delegation 

1)  Background 

(a) The Solvency II Delegated Act 

The  vast  majority  of  empowerments  in  the  Solvency  II  Directive  were  exercised  by  the 
Commission in 2014. Empowerments were bundled because of the complex inter-relation of 
different empowerments, for example on the Solvency II standard formula. 

On  14  October  2014,  the  Commission  adopted  the  Solvency  II  Delegated  Act7,  which  was 
published in the Official Journal on 17 January 2015 after the expiry of the scrutiny period of 
the European Parliament and the Council. It entered into force on 18 January 2015, well ahead 
of 1 January 2016, when the Solvency II Directive became fully applicable. 

This  Delegated  Act  was  based  on  more  than  4000  pages  of  technical  advice  provided  by 
European  Insurance  and  Occupational  Pensions  Authority  (EIOPA)  in  2009  and  2010.  A 
formal Call for Advice was sent in March 2009. EIOPA's advice, which was subject to public 
consultation,  was  provided  to  the  Commission  between  November  2009  and  January  2010. 
After receiving EIOPA's advice between 2009 and 2010, the Commission organised a public 
hearing  on  the  draft  Delegated  Regulation  on  4  May  2010  and  carried  out  its  own  public 
consultation between November 2010 and January 2011.  

In  addition,  EIOPA,  mandated  by  the  Commission  in  September  2012,  launched  a  public 
consultation  on  its  report  on  the  calibration  and  design  of  capital  requirements  for  certain 
long-term investments, adopted in December 2013.  

During the development of this Delegated Act, the Commission held more than 20 meetings 
of  the  relevant  expert  group,  during  which  the  draft  Delegated  Regulation  was  discussed 
among  experts  from  the  Member  States,  involving  observers  from  the  European  Parliament 
and EIOPA8. 

(b) The 2015 Infrastructure Projects amendment 

Subsequently, the Commission adopted on 30 September 2015 the Infrastructure amendment 
to the Solvency II Delegated Act9, which entered into force on 2 April 2016.  

As regards the infrastructure amendments contained in this delegated act, on 4 February 2015 
the  Commission  asked  EIOPA  for  technical  advice  on  whether  and  how  it  would  be 

7 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/35 of 10 October 2014 supplementing Directive 2009/138/EC of 
the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  taking-up  and  pursuit  of  the  business  of  Insurance  and 
Reinsurance (Solvency II), OJ L 12, 17.1.2015, p. 1. 
8 For further explanations, please see the Explanatory Memorandum to the Solvency II Delegated Act, available 
here: http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/3/2014/EN/3-2014-7230-EN-F1-1.Pdf  
9  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2016/467  of  30  September  2015  amending  Commission  Delegated 
Regulation (EU) 2015/35 concerning the calculation of regulatory capital requirements for several categories of 
assets held by insurance and reinsurance undertakings, OJ L 85, 1.4.2016, p. 6. 

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appropriate  to  amend  the  Solvency  II  standard  formula  for  the  calculation  of  the  solvency 
capital  requirement.  EIOPA  conducted  a  public  consultation  on  draft  technical  advice 
between  2  July  2015  and  9  August  2015,  and  adopted  its  final  technical  advice  on  29 
September 2015. 

The amendment also covered changes with respect to European Long-Term Investment Funds 
(ELTIF),  the  equity  transitional  and  Multilateral  Trading  Facilities  (MTFs).  The  act  also 
brought certain amendment and corrections to address drafting errors in the 2014 Solvency II 
Delegated Act. 

The Expert Group on Banking, Payments and Insurance (insurance formation) (EGBPI) was 
consulted in meetings and in writing in 2015 on the content of the delegated act.  

(c)  The 2017 Infrastructure corporates amendment 

In order to further work towards the objective of the CMU, the Commission requested further 
technical advice from EIOPA on infrastructure corporates in 2015 and EIOPA's Advice was 
received  on  30  June  2016.  Ahead  of  the  adoption  of  the  amendment,  the  EGBPI  was 
consulted, including on the legal text of the amendment. 

On  8  June  2017,  the  Commission  adopted  the  Infrastructure  corporates  amendment10  to  the 
Solvency II Delegated Act. This Act was published in the Official Journal on 14 September 
2017, after the expiry of the European Parliament and Council scrutiny period. 

(d) Equivalence decisions 

Under  Articles  172,  227  and  260  of  the  Solvency  II  Directive,  equivalence  decisions 
regarding third country jurisdictions are adopted as in the form of delegated acts. 

The  Commission  adopted  in  June  2015  and  November  2015  two  packages  of  equivalence 
decisions with respect to 8 jurisdictions. EIOPA has provided advice to the Commission on 
equivalence  of  these  third  countries  and  ahead  of  the  adoption  of  these  delegated  acts,  the 
EGBPI was consulted. 

Further details on the empowerments exercised are set out below. 

(e)  Other delegated acts 

Separately, the Commission also adopted correcting acts for some of the language versions of 
the Delegated Act11. 

10  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2017/1542  of  8  June  2017  amending  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
2015/35  concerning  the  calculation  of  regulatory  capital  requirements  for  certain  categories  of  assets  held  by 
insurance and reinsurance undertakings (infrastructure corporates), OJ L 236, 14.09.2017, p. 14. 
11  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2016/2283  of  22  August  2016  correcting  the  German  language 
version  of  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/35  supplementing  Directive  2009/138/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  taking-up  and  pursuit  of  the  business  of  Insurance  and  Reinsurance 
(Solvency II), OJ L 346, 20.12.2016, p. 111–112 (BG, ES, CS, DA, ET, EL, EN, FR, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, 
NL,  PL,  PT,  RO,  SK,  SL,  FI,  SV)  and  OJ  L  346,  20.12.2016,  p.  111–125  (DE)  and  Commission  Delegated 
Regulation (EU)  2017/669 of 16  December 2016  correcting  the  Bulgarian,  Croatian, Czech, Estonian, French, 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
All the above is elaborated upon further below, with respect to each individual empowerment 
contained in the Solvency II Directive. 

2)  Article 17 

To date the Commission has not used the empowerment to adopt delegated acts relating to the 
lists of legal forms of undertakings set out in Annex III, excluding points 28 and 29 of each of 
Parts A, B and C, of the Directive. The Commission has not received any requests from the 
Member States with respect to this list.  

3)  Article 31 

The empowerment to adopt delegated acts relating to Article 31(2), specifying the key aspects 
on  which  aggregate  statistical  data are  to  be  disclosed,  and the  contents  list  and  publication 
date of the disclosures, was exercised in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

In  the  2015  Infrastructure  Projects  amendment  to  the  Solvency  II  Delegated  Act,  this 
empowerment was exercised to amend a provision containing drafting errors. Similarly, this 
empowerment  was  exercised  in  the  2016  DE  language  correcting  act  to  the  Solvency  II 
Delegated Act, to amend some provisions to address certain translation errors. 

4)  Article 35 

The empowerment to adopt delegated acts to specify the information referred to in paragraphs 
1 to 4 of Article 35 and the deadlines for the submission of that information, was exercised in 
the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act and in the 2016 DE language correcting act. 

5)  Article 37 

Article  37(6)  and  (7)  provides  that  the  Commission  shall  adopt  delegated  acts  laying  down 
further specifications for the circumstances under which a capital add-on may be imposed and 
for the methodologies for the calculation of capital add-ons. These empowerments were used 
by the Commission in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

6)  Article 50 

Article 50(1) provides that the Commission shall adopt delegated acts to further specify: 

(a)  the elements of the systems referred to in Articles 41, 44, 46 and 47, and in particular 
the  areas  to  be  covered  by  the  asset–liability  management  and  investment  policy,  as 
referred to in Article 44(2), of insurance and reinsurance undertakings; 

(b) the functions referred to in Articles 44, 46, 47 and 48. 

Points (a) and (b) were both taken up in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act and covered by 
the DE language correcting act. 

Greek,  Lithuanian,  Maltese,  Romanian,  Slovak  and  Swedish  language  versions  of  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
2015/35 supplementing Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the taking-up 
and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II), OJ L 97, 8.4.2017, p. 3. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                                                          
Point (a) was also covered in the 2017 Infrastructure corporates amendment to the Solvency II 
Delegated Act. 

7)  Article 56 

Under  Article  56,  the  Commission  is  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  to  specify  further 
certain issues related to the Solvency and Financial Condition Report, such as the information 
which must be disclosed and the deadlines for the annual disclosure of the information. 

Provisions  to  this  effect  are  set  out  in  the  2014  Solvency  II  Delegated  Act,  and  are  also 
covered by the DE language correcting act. 

8)  Article 75 

Article  75(2)  provides  that  the  Commission  shall  adopt  delegated  acts  to  lay  down  the 
methods and assumptions to be used in the valuation of assets and liabilities as laid down in 
paragraph  1  of  that  Article.  This  empowerment  was  taken  up  in  the  2014  Solvency  II 
Delegated Act and the 2015 Infrastructure Projects amendment to the Solvency II Delegated 
Act, which amends the relevant Articles to address drafting errors. 

9)  Article 86 

The  empowerment  to  adopt  delegated  acts  concerning  Article  86(1)(a)  to  (i),  in  relation  to 
certain  aspects  of  Article  77,  77b,  77c,  77d,  80  and  82  of  the  Solvency  II  Directive,  was 
exercised  in  the  2014  Solvency  II  Delegated  Act.  In  addition,  in  2017  the  Commission 
adopted a correcting act concerning the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, French, Greek, 
Lithuanian,  Maltese,  Romanian,  Slovak  and  Swedish  language  versions  of  the  Solvency  II 
Delegated Act, correcting an issue related to the empowerment in Article 86(1)(e). 

10) Article 92 

The empowerment to specify the treatment of participations in financial and credit institutions 
with  respect  to  the  determination  of  own  funds,  under  Article  92(1a),  was  exercised  by  the 
Commission in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

Under this empowerment, an amendment was also adopted to address a minor drafting issue 
through the 2015 Infrastructure Projects amendment to the Solvency II Delegated Act and the 
DE language correcting act. 

11) Article 97 

A list of own-fund items, per Article 97(1) of the Solvency II Directive, was laid down in the 
2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. The DE language correcting act also covered this issue. 

12) Article 99 

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Empowerments with respect to the eligibility of own funds, in accordance with Article 99 of 
the Solvency II Directive, were exercised in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

13) Article 109a 

The  additional  criteria  pursuant  to  Article  109a(5)  were  set  out  by  the  Commission  in  the 
2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. The DE language correcting act also covered this issue. 

14) Article 111 

The empowerments with  respect  to the standard formula (Article 111(1)(a) to  (f) and (g) to 
(q))  were  acted  upon  in  the  2014  Solvency  II  Delegated  Act.  Both  the  2015  Infrastructure 
Projects  amendment  and  the  2017  Infrastructure  corporates  amendment  to  the  Solvency  II 
Delegated Act were based on the empowerments in Article 111(1)(b), (c), and (m). 

In addition, DE language correcting act had as a legal basis Article 111(1)(a) to (c), Article 
111(1)(f),  Article  111(1)(h),  Article  111(1)(k),  Article  111(1)(l),  Article  111(1)(o),  whereas 
the 2017 correcting act of various languages had Article 111(1)(c) as one of the legal bases. 

The empowerment in Article 111(1)(fa) has to date not yet been exercised. As a consequence, 
exposures to qualifying central counterparties are subject to the same capital requirement as 
other counterparty exposures. On 18 July 2016, the Commission has sent a call for advice to 
EIOPA  requesting  to  develop  a  specific  approach  for  exposures  to  qualifying  central 
counterparties. EIOPA's advice is expected to be delivered in February 2018 on the basis of 
which the Commission may then decide to exercise the empowerment.  

15) Article 114, 127, 130  

With  respect  to  empowerments  regarding  internal  models  (Article  114(1)(a)  and  (b)),  the 
assessment of the risk profile and management of the business regarding the use of internal 
models (Article 127) and the calculation of the Minimum Capital Requirement (Article 130), 
these empowerments were exercised in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

16) Article 135 

Article  135(1)  provides  that  the  Commission  may  specify  qualitative  requirements  with 
respect to the prudent person principle. To date, this "may" empowerment has not been used, 
but  should  a  need  arise  to  lay  down  further  rules  in  this  area,  the  empowerment  can  be 
exercised in the future. 

On the other hand, requirements concerning investments in securitisation (Article 135(2)(a), 
(b) and (c)) have been set out in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

17) Article 143 

As regards the types of exceptional adverse situations and the factors and criteria to be taken 
into  account  by  EIOPA  in  declaring  the  existence  of  exceptional  adverse  situations  and  by 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
supervisory  authorities  in  determining  the  extension  to  recovery  period  in  accordance  with 
Article 138(4), this was enacted in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

18) Article 172 

Article  172  of  the  Solvency  II  Directive  concerns  third  country  equivalence  as  regards 
reinsurance.  As  part  of  the  2014  Solvency  II  Delegated  Act,  the  Commission  adopted  the 
criteria  for  assessing  whether  the  solvency  regime  of  a  third  country  that  applies  to 
reinsurance activities is equivalent to the rules in the EU, per Article 172(1). 

Pursuant to Article 172(2) the Commission has to date adopted 2 equivalence decisions in the 
form  of  delegated  acts,  for  Switzerland12  and  Bermuda13  and  one  temporary  equivalence 
decision for Japan14, in accordance with Article 172(4). 

19) Article 210 

Article  210(2)  provides  that  the  Commission  may  adopt  delegated  acts  as  regards  the 
monitoring,  management  and  control  of  risks  arising  from  finite  reinsurance  activities.  To 
date, this "may" empowerment has not been used, but should a need arise to lay down further 
rules in this area, the empowerment can be taken up in the future. 

20) Article 211 

Article  211(2)  sets  out  that  the  Commission  shall  adopt  delegated  acts  specifying  criteria 
related  to  the  supervisory  approval  of  special  purpose  vehicles.  This  empowerment  was 
exercised  in  the  2014  Solvency  II  Delegated  Act  and  the  DE  language  correcting  act  also 
covered this issue. 

21) Article 216 and 217 

Under Article 216 and 217, the Commission respectively may and shall adopt delegated acts 
setting out the circumstances under which the decisions with respect to sub-group supervision 
at  a  national  level  or  covering  several  Member  States,  as  set  out  in  paragraphs  1  of  those 
Articles can be made. Parts of the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act have been adopted under 
these empowerments. 

22) Article 227 

12  Commission  Delegated  Decision  (EU)  2015/1602  of  5  June  2015  on  the  equivalence  of  the  solvency  and 
prudential regime for insurance and reinsurance undertakings in force in Switzerland based on Articles 172(2), 
227(4)  and  260(3)  of  Directive  2009/138/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council,  OJ  L  248, 
24.9.2015, p. 95. 
13 Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2016/309 of 26 November 2015 on the equivalence of the supervisory 
regime  for  insurance  and  reinsurance  undertakings  in  force  in  Bermuda  to  the  regime  laid  down  in  Directive 
2009/138/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  and  amending  Commission  Delegated  Decision 
(EU) 2015/2290, OJ L 58, 4.3.2016, p. 50. 
14  Commission  Delegated  Decision  (EU)  2016/310  of  26  November  2015  on  the  equivalence  of  the  solvency 
regime  for  insurance  and  reinsurance  undertakings  in  force  in  Japan  to  the  regime  laid  down  in  Directive 
2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, OJ L 58, 4.3.2016, p. 55. 

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Article 227 of the Solvency II Directive covers equivalence concerning related third –country 
insurance and reinsurance undertakings. As part of the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act, the 
Commission adopted the criteria for assessing whether the solvency regime of a third country 
is  equivalent  to  that  laid  down  in  Title  I,  Chapter  VI  of  Solvency  II,  in  accordance  with 
Article 227(3). 

In  2015,  the  Commission  first  adopted  an  equivalence  decision  in  accordance  with  Article 
227(4) for Switzerland15 and a provisional equivalence decision pursuant to Article 227(5) for 
Australia,  Bermuda,  Brazil,  Canada,  Mexico  and  the  United  States16.  Later  that  year,  a 
provisional equivalence decision was adopted for Japan17.  

In 2016, the provisional equivalence decision as regards Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, 
Mexico  and  the  United  States  was  amended,  through  an  equivalence  decision  for  Bermuda 
pursuant  to  Article  227(4)18.  This  reflected  the  entry  into  force  of  a  new  solvency  and 
prudential regime in Bermuda at that time. 

23) Article 234 and 241 

Article 234 of the Solvency II Directive provides that the Commission shall adopt delegated 
acts  specifying  the  technical  principles  and  methods  set  out  in  Article  220  to  229  and  the 
application of Article 230 to 233, reflecting the economic nature of specific legal structures. 

Under  Article  241  of  the  Solvency  II  Directive,  the  Commission  shall  adopt  delegated  acts 
specifying: 

(a)  the criteria for assessing whether the conditions stated in Article 236 are satisfied; 
(b) the  criteria  for  assessing  what  should  be  considered  an  emergency  situation  under 

Article 239(2); 

(c)  the  procedures  to  be  followed  by  supervisory  authorities  when  exchanging 
information,  exercising  their  rights  and  fulfilling  their  duties  in  accordance  with 
Articles 237 to 240. 

Both empowerments were exercised in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

24) Article 244 

As regards the definition of a significant risk concentration for the purposes of paragraphs 2 
and  3  of  Article  244,  this  has  been  set  out  in  the  2014  Solvency  II  Delegated  Act. The  DE 
language correcting act also covered this issue. 

25) Article 245 

15 See footnote 15. 
16  Commission  Delegated  Decision  (EU)  2015/2290  of  5  June  2015  on  the  provisional  equivalence  of  the 
solvency regimes in force in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States and applicable to insurance 
and reinsurance undertakings with head offices in those countries, OJ L 323, 9.12.2015, p. 22, as amended by 
Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2016/309. 
17 See footnote 17. 
18 See footnote 16. 

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Article  245(4)  provides  that  the  Commission  shall  adopt  delegated  acts  as  regards  the 
definition  of  a  significant  intra-group  transaction  for  the  purposes  of  paragraphs  2  and  3  of 
that Article. This was done in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

26) Article 247 

Article 247 provides that, in the event any major difficulties arise from the application of the 
criteria  set  out  in  paragraph  2  and  3  as  regards  the  designation  of  the  group  supervisor,  the 
Commission  shall  adopt  delegated  acts  to  further  specify  those  criteria.  No  such  major 
difficulties have arisen to date and this empowerment has therefore not been acted upon. 

27) Article 248 

The  Commission  set  out  the  definition  of  ‘significant  branch’,  in  accordance  with  Article 
248(8) in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

28) Article 256 

Under  Article  256(4),  the  Commission  shall  adopt  delegated  acts  further  specifying  the 
information  which  must  be  disclosed  and  the  deadlines  for  the  annual  disclosure  of  the 
information as regards the single solvency and financial condition report and the report on the 
solvency  and  financial  condition  report  at  the  level  of  the  group.  This  empowerment  was 
exercised in the 2014 Solvency II Delegated Act. 

29) Article 258 

To  date,  the  Commission  has  not  yet  adopted  any  delegated  act  pursuant  to  the  "may" 
empowerment in Article 258(3), but should a need arise, the empowerment can be exercised 
in the future. 

30) Article 260 

The criteria for assessing whether the prudential regime in a third country for the supervision 
of groups is equivalent to that laid down in Title III have been set out in the 2014 Solvency II 
Delegated Act, in accordance with Article 260(2). 

In  addition,  the  Commission  has  adopted  2  equivalence  decisions  under  Article  260(3):  as 
regards Bermuda19 and Switzerland20. 

To date, no temporary equivalence decisions pursuant to Article 260(5) have been adopted. 

31) Article 308b 

As regards the transitional laid down in Article 308b(13), the criteria to be met, including the 
equities that may be subject to the transitional period, have been set out in the 2014 Solvency 

19 See footnote 16. 
20 See footnote 15. 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
II  Delegated  Act  and  were  amended  in  the  2015  Infrastructure  Projects  amendment  to  the 
Delegated Act. 

Two  additional  empowerments  in  Article  308b(15)  and  (17)  have  to  date  not  yet  been 
exercised.  

The  first  empowerment  (Article  308b(15))  concerns  the  possibility  for  the  Commission  to 
adopt  delegated  acts  that  amend  the  transitional  period  prescribed  in  that  paragraph  with 
respect  to  occupational-retirement-provision  business  of  insurance  undertakings  where 
amendments  to  Articles  17  to  17c  of  Directive  2003/41/EC21  (IORPS)  have  been  adopted. 
Since no such amendments have been adopted yet, the empowerment has not been exercised 
so far. 

The second provision (Article 308b(17)) concerns delegated acts to set out the changes in the 
group  solvency  where  the  transitional  provisions  referred  to  in  Article  308b(13)  are 
applicable. The transitional provision applies at the level of the group in the same manner as 
to  a  single  insurance  or  reinsurance  undertaking,  and  so  far  no  practical  difficulty  with  its 
application  has  arisen  that  would  necessitate  further  specification.  Should  a  need  arise,  the 
empowerment can be exercised in the future. 

IV.  Conclusion 

The Commission has exercised its delegated powers in a timely and correct manner to ensure 
that the required Delegated Acts were in place for insurance and reinsurance undertakings and 
national  supervisory  authorities  to  apply  the  rules  on  the  date  the  Solvency  II  Directive 
became  fully  applicable.  Targeted  amendments  since  then  have  ensured  that  the  prudential 
framework  is  appropriately  calibrated  to  allow  insurers  to  contribute  to  the  Capital  Markets 
Union as long-term investors. 

Going  forward,  the  Commission  considers  that  all  delegations  of  power  should  be  retained, 
amongst  others  as  preparatory  work  is  ongoing  with  respect  to  aligning  the  Solvency  II 
Delegated Act22 with the Regulation on Simple, Transparent and Standardised Securitisation23 
and the amendment to the Capital Requirements Regulation24, and the Commission has asked 
EIOPA for its technical advice on the review of specific items in the Solvency II Delegated 
Act25. 

21  Directive  2003/41/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  3  June  2003  on  the  activities  and 
supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision, OJ L 235, 23.9.2003, p. 10. 
22 Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL laying down 
common  rules  on  securitisation  and  creating  a  European  framework  for  simple,  transparent  and  standardised 
securitisation  and  amending  Directives  2009/65/EC,  2009/138/EC,  2011/61/EU  and  Regulations  (EC)  No 
1060/2009  and  (EU)  No  648/2012,  COM/2015/0472  final  -  2015/0226  (COD),  available  here:  http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52015PC0472  
23 COM (2015) 472 final, not yet published in the OJ. 
24  COM (2015) 473 final not yet published in the OJ.  
25  REQUEST  TO  EIOPA  FOR  TECHNICAL  ADVICE  ON  THE  REVIEW  OF  SPECIFIC  ITEMS  IN  THE 
SOLVENCY 
here: 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/eiopa-call-for-advice-18072016_en.pdf and 
REQUEST  TO  EIOPA  FOR  TECHNICAL  ADVICE  ON  THE  REVIEW  OF  SPECIFIC  ITEMS  IN  THE 
SOLVENCY  II  DELEGATED  REGULATION  AS  REGARDS  UNJUSTIFIED  CONSTRAINTS  TO 

II  DELEGATED  REGULATION 

(Regulation 

2015/35), 

available 

(EU) 

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The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to take note of this report. 

FINANCING (Regulation (EU) 2015/35), available here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/eiopa-call-for-
advice-22022017_en.pdf 

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