CELEX: 51978PC0736
Language: en
Date: 1978-12-19 00:00:00
Title: RECOMMANDATION FOR A COUNCIL DECISION concerning the position of the Community within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on a draft recommendation concerning institutional co-operation between authorities of member countries of OECD responsible for supervision of private insurance (presented by the Commission, to the Council)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (78) 736
Vol. 1978/0273
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 ---pagebreak---              COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                                         COM(78)736 final
                                                                         Brussels , 19 December 197$
                              RECOMMANDATION FOR A COUNCIL DECISION
              concerning "the position of the Community within the Organisation for
              Economic Co-operation and Development on a draft recommendation con­
              cerning institutional co-operation between authorities of member coun
                 tries of O0CD responsible for supervision of private insurance
                           (presented by the Commission, to the Council)
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Ca;(78 ) 736 final
 ---pagebreak---      Recommendation for a Council Itecision concerning1 the position of
     the Community within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
     and Development on a draft recommendation concerning institutional
     oo-operation between authorities of member countries responsible
                      for supervision of private insurance
Obieotive and background
Hie Insuranoe Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) has for many years devoted itself to achieving
freedom of insurance transactions among its member countries .
It appeared to some of these countries that the development of a system
of oo-oparation between the supervisory authorities of these countries
was indispensable if further progress was to be made in that direction .
Several drafts have been examined by the Insurance Committee , the last
one having been drawn up by a limited working pairty composed of repre­
sentatives of France , Austria and Spain. The text produced by this
working party is annexed; it was examined by the Insurance Committee
on 17 and 18 May 1977# I"t takes the form of a draft recommendation,
which has still to be submitted to the OECD Council ,, and on which the
Community must adopt a position.
Contents of the OECD draft recommendation
The recommendation urges the member countries of the OECD
(1) to require the responsible authorities to exchange information of
    a general character relating, inter alia, to national previsions
    relevant to the supervision of the solvency of conoerns ,
(2) to conclude "bilateral conventions with a view to enabling those
    authorities to exchange information and to lend on© another
    assistance .
 ---pagebreak---       A model bilateral convention is contained in the recowraendation . It
   • provides for a minimal degree- of oo-op ©ration as regarda exohange of
      information and reciprocal assistance . It also specifics that '"Bie-
      rules as to secrecy to which the authorities of the Contracting States
      are subject shall not impede co-operation, between suoh authorities and
      reoiprooal assistance as provided for in the present Convention ," and
      " TSie information exchanged may be used by those authorities solely for .
      carrying out their task of supervision." (Article 4(l ))»
III . Role of the Community as regards this draft recommendation
      The importance of this recommendation for the Community must be
      appraised in the light of the coordination of laws achieved by appli­
      cation of the Council Directive of 24 July 1973 (OJ L 228 of 16 August
      1973 ) and by reference to the following considerations :
      - Collaboration between supervisory authorities is provided for in the
         directive on co-ordination of liability insurance of 24 July 1973 as
         an essential component of the co-ordination , which is thus not limited
         to a harmonization of the substantive law. In particular , they have
         the obligation of granting authorization to the branches of under­
         takings having their head office in another Member State which satisfy
         the requirements of the directive .
      - This direotive expressly stipulates that " The Commission and the com­
         petent authorities of the Member States shall collaborate closely for
         the purpose of facilitating the supervision of direct insurance within
         the Community ..." ( Article 33 ).
      - Branches of undertakings of non-member States are covered by the
         direotive , which subjects them to precise substantive rules . For this
         reason, they must furnish information and documents emanating from the
         supervisory authorities of non-member countries .
      - Collaboration between a supervisory authority of a Member State and
         the supervisory authority of a non-member State may thus be suoh as
         to faoilitate the implementation of this Community direotive .
 ---pagebreak---                                        - 3 -
     As regards the application of the recommendation to the conclusion of a
     convention with a non-Community Member State of the OECD, for example
     following a proposal made Toy that State or a request presented lay one
    or more Member States , the Commission will submit appropriate recom­
    mendations with a view to opening negotiations with such third country
    or countries .
     The Commission considers , in this connection, that there may be cases
    where it will not be necessary , at least at a first stage , to extend the
    co-operation to the authorities of all the Member States of the Community,
    for example where the activities , within the Community , of another State
    or the activities of Community-based enterprises within that State do not ,
    at that stage , affect all the Member States .
    The Commission will take account of such. cases in its recommendations to
    the Counoil , so that such recommendations may, a3 the case requires ,
    provide that the authorities of certain Member States are not included
    in the agreement , or indeed that negotiations shall take place between
    a Member State and the non –Member State   concerned ,
    •Hie Commission considers , finally, that It is in the interest of the
    Community that Member States , for their part , adopt a common position
    and also give their support to this draft OECD recommendation .
IV, Conclusions
    In conclusion, the Commission recommends that the Council should decides
    1 , that the Community shall for its part accept the OECD draft recom­
        mendation concerning institutional co-operation between authorities
        of member countries responsible for supervision of private insurance ;
    2, that for this purpose the Commission, in the name of the Community,
        shall make the following declaration to the OECDt " The European Economic
        Community approves the recommendation concerning institutional co-operation
        between authorities of member countries responsible for supervision of
        private insurance . As regards mors particularly the conclusion of
        bilateral conventions envisaged in point 2 of the recommendation, the
        Community is ready to engage in appropriate negotiations with other
        Member States of the OECD who so desire ,"
 ---pagebreak---                                                              ANNEX
                      1 RECOMMENDATION OF THE COUNCIL
                              CONCERNING
           INSTITUTIONAL CO-OPERATION BETWEEN AUTHORITIES
           OP MEMBER COUNTRIES RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPERVISION
                         OF PRIVATE INSURANCE
The Council ,
HAVING REGARD TO Article 5(b)       "the Convention (on the Organisation for
Eoonomic Co-operation and Development of 14th December, i960);
HAVING REGARD TO the Report by the Insurance Committee of ...•••••• on
co-operation "between authorities of Member countries responsible for
supervision of private insurance , and, in particular , to paragraph 3
thereof ;
RECOMMENDS Member countries :
(1 ) to require their administrative authorities responsible for super­
     vision of private insurance , whenever they receive a request from
     another supervisory authority of a Member country, to exchange
     directly between themselves information of a general character re­
     lating, inter alia, to legislative , regulatory and administrative
     requirements in the field of insurance , in order to permit of
     comparisons between countries such as might promote , as applicable ,
     voluntary alignments of the relevant national provisions ;
(2) to conclude , in the light of the developments of their economic
     relations in the insuranoe sector, bilateral conventions, in accordance
     with the attached model , in order to exeroise their function of super­
     vision and to lend one another assistance reciprocally.
 ---pagebreak---                                MOIEL CONVENTIOTT
                                  Preambule
States (A) and (B),
Being desirous of facilitating the operations of insurance concerns
oarrying on "business in their countries and of strengthening as much
as possible the proteotion of policy-holders and beneficiaries under
contracts of insurance ;
Considering that for such purpose it is essential to increase the means
of obtaining information which are available to supervisory authorities
in order that they may , through better knowledge of the overall situation
of a concern undertaking insurance in their countries, exercise their
function with the maximum effectiveness ;
Have agreed to conclude the present Convention concerning co-operation
and reciprocal assistance in the field of supervision of private insurance
ooncerns .
                                    Article 1
                                General Provisions
1 . Co-operation and reciprocal assistance as provided for in the following
    provisions relate to direct insurance ,
2. 1&e administrative authorities responsible for co-operation and
    reciprocal assistance are s
    - in (State A): ••••• # ••
    - in (State B )! ••••••••
The said administrative authorities are in the following Articles termed
" authorities"#
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 3 -
                                  Article 2
                           Exchange of information
1 . The authorities of the Contracting States undertake to give each other
    such information as they need for the exercise of their function , and in
    particular for the exercise of supervision of private insurance concerns .
2. The foregoing provisions shall neither entitle the authorities of the
    Contracting States to request nor oblige them to give information which
    they are not entitled to obtain under their national law.
                                   Article 3
                            Reciprocal Assistance
1 . The authorities of the Contracting States shall reciprocally lend each
    other assistance in order to facilitate as far as possible the application
    of each State 's own law relating to supervision of insurance concerns .
2 . Should the situation of a concern carrying on insurance business in the
    Contracting States be such that it is expedient to take measures to
    safeguard the interests of its policy-holders , the authorities may
    consult together with a view to taking, if possible by mutual agreement ,
    appropriate measures in accordance with their national law-
                                   Article 4
                                    Secrecy
1 . The rules as to secrecy to which the authorities of the Contracting States
    are subject shall not impede co-operation between such authorities and
    reciprocal assistance as provided for in the present Convention .
2« Nevertheless , any request for information, any information provided or
    any consultation shall be kept secret in relation to third parties , unless
    the authorities concerned decide by mutual agreement that it is not of
    a confidential character.
                                                                           ./■
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 4 -
  3 . The provisions of Articles 2 and 3 may in no case be construed as
      obliging a Contracting State to communicate any information which
      would reveal a commercial secret of the concern in question, or any
      information the communication of which would be contrary to public
      policy ("ordre public ").
                                  Article 5
                         Application of the Convention
 1 . For the purpose of applying the present Convention, the authorities of
     the Contracting States shall communicate directly between themselves.
 2. If oral exchanges of views Bhould appear likely to facilitate the ap­
     plication of the Convention, then Buch exchanges of views may take place
     in a Commission oomposed of representatives of the authorities
                                Final provisions
(Provisions conoerningi ratification, entry into force, termination of
the Convention),