Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-23-Speech-1-147"
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"en.20061023.19.1-147"2
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".
Mr President, allow me to address two measures proposed by the Commission on which Parliament will vote tomorrow. They concern the postponement of the decision on the equivalence of third country accounting standards – we aim to reach that decision by July 2008 – and the general implementation measures for the Transparency Directive.
I would first like to thank the rapporteurs for their efficient and helpful work on these important and sensitive matters. Along with the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, they have worked very constructively with the Commission and all parties concerned. The careful work of Parliament has demonstrably improved the legal texts. I would also like to thank the Committee of European Securities Regulators for its excellent work. The draft measures now represent a balanced and efficient solution.
Firstly, on equivalence: postponing our decision on equivalence will not only ensure that EU markets remain open while work on convergence is ongoing, but will also allow us to work actively with United States and other third country authorities towards the elimination of reconciliation requirements for EU issuers abroad. This is and will remain our number one objective.
The additional two years will enable us to align the equivalence decision with the Securities and Exchange Commission's timeline in its roadmap towards eliminating the need for reconciliation between IFRS and US GAAP. The United States authorities are committed to working towards the recognition of equivalence of IFRS and US GAAP. With the new timing of the equivalence decisions, we will be able to work in parallel towards common agreed objectives.
In this context, it is important to emphasise that nothing is predetermined. We will decide on equivalence by mid-2008, in the light of progress in convergence, and it is certainly not a foregone conclusion that any specific GAAP will 'pass the test'. It has always been our priority to keep our options open. I know that Parliament shares that objective. Before 1 January 2008, we will have decided on both a definition of equivalence and the equivalence mechanism. This will be done by way of comitology, with the full involvement of Parliament.
Exemption for issuers of professional securities from the need to provide narrative description of differences between third country GAAPs and IFRS remains an issue of concern. We know that Parliament has doubts about this amendment. Its aim is strictly to remove the ambiguity in the existing Prospectus Regulation. We regret that we were alerted about this ambiguity only a few weeks ago, but we are convinced that this amendment is necessary to ensure legal certainty.
Secondly, on the transparency measures: the Transparency Directive is a major step towards integrated European financial markets that investors and the public can trust. To achieve this, it is important to complete the transparency obligations by adopting the Commission implementing measures today under your consideration.
Parliament has made several proposals to the Commission for improving this text, which I appreciate. The Commission is ready to accept the substance of most of them, unless this is not possible for technical reasons. In particular, Parliament raised questions on the notification to be made by market makers indicating their intention to make use of one of the exceptions to the Directive. The Commission prefers a solution that limits the administrative burden, and therefore the cost, for market makers. This is why the Commission is in favour of market makers filing this notification with their own competent authority only, instead of with potentially 25 authorities. I believe this solution fits perfectly with the simplification agenda that the Commission supports."@en1
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