28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/1

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/5

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/8

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/9

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in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes,

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in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm) under document number 32011M5047. EUR-Lex is the on-line access to the European law.

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/10

1.

In order for the recently established European System of Financial Supervision to work effectively, changes to Union legislation in the field of operation of the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) (2) and of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) (3) are necessary. In this respect, the proposed directive amending legislation in the insurance and securities sectors — essentially Directive 2009/138/EC (4) and to a more limited extent Directive 2003/71/EC (5) — complements the legal framework already adopted by Directive 2010/78/EU (6). This opinion should therefore be read in conjunction with ECB Opinion CON/2010/23 (7).

2.

The opinion assesses the proposed directive from a financial stability perspective. The observations and drafting proposals contained in this opinion focus on aspects relevant to supervisory architecture reform, the involvement of the ECB, ESCB and of the ESRB and cooperation and information-sharing arrangements with the ESAs and national competent authorities. It also pays particular attention to the need to ensure where relevant consistent approaches across financial services sectors with a view to ensuring a level playing field and as a tool for supervisory convergence.

3.

The development of a European single rulebook for all financial institutions in the single market (8), which the ECB fully supports (9), requires (i) an appropriate identification of the relevant areas for delegated and implementing acts, (ii) adequate involvement of ESAs in the preparation of these acts taking into account their technical nature and the need to rely on the highly specialised expertise of supervisory authorities; and (iii) a consistent and coordinated approach across sectors in adopting these implementing measures.

4.

Having regard to the importance of the function to be played by delegated and implementing acts adopted under Articles 290 and 291 of the Treaty (10) as a substantial component of the single rulebook, the ECB makes the following observations with regard to the exercise of its own advisory role under Article 127(4) and Article 282(5) of the Treaty.

First, Commission draft delegated or implementing acts qualify as ‘proposed Union acts’ within the meaning of the first indent of Article 127(4) and Article 282(5) of the Treaty. Both delegated and implementing acts constitute legal acts of the Union. Significantly, the majority of the language versions of Article 282(5) of the Treaty refer to ‘draft’ Union legal acts on which the ECB is required to be consulted (11). Therefore, the scope of the duty to consult the ECB cannot be confined only to those draft acts based on a Commission proposal.

Second, in the OLAF judgment (12), the Court of Justice clarified that the obligation to consult the ECB is intended ‘essentially to ensure that the legislature adopts the act only when the body has been heard, which, by virtue of the specific functions that it exercises in the Community framework in the area concerned and by virtue of the high degree of expertise that it enjoys, is particularly well placed to play a useful role in the legislative process envisaged’.

Against this backdrop, in order to deploy the full benefits of the exercise by the ECB of its advisory role, the ECB should be consulted in due time on any draft Union acts, including draft delegated and implementing acts, falling within its fields of competence. The ECB will exercise its advisory role taking into utmost account the timelines for adopting these acts.

5.

In the context of the general amendments common to most sectoral legislation and necessary for the new authorities to operate, the ECB stresses the importance of ensuring that appropriate gateways for the exchange of information are included in the relevant legislation applicable to the financial sector. The ECB suggests therefore amending Directive 2009/138/EC consistently with the corresponding provisions of Directive 2006/48/EC (13) according to which competent authorities and EIOPA are not prevented from transmitting information to central banks of the ESCB, including the ECB, where appropriate, to other national authorities responsible for overseeing payment systems and to the ESRB when this information is relevant to their respective tasks (14). Appropriate information sharing arrangements should also be established for emergency situations.

6.

While acknowledging the limited objectives of the proposed directive, the ECB is of the view that the Union legislative framework should be consistent, where appropriate, across the financial services sectors, namely to avoid regulatory arbitrage. For instance, the ECB suggests promoting cross-sectoral convergence in the following:

6.1.   Treatment of financial holdings in the calculation of own funds: when determining own funds, the ECB is of the view that coherence in the treatment of ‘participations’ in the same sector and across financial services sectors could be increased in order to prevent any regulatory arbitrage between legal entities and/or between entities within a financial conglomerate (15). The ECB recommends in particular further aligning the definition of participation in insurance undertakings and credit institutions in Directive 2006/48/EC (16) and Directive 2009/138/EC (17) and the methods to be used at the group level to deal with the double gearing stemming from cross-sector participations (18). The Sub-Committee on Financial Conglomerates established by the ESAs regulations (19) could play a meaningful role in fostering cross-sectoral convergence.

6.2.   Addressing financial stability: any pro-cyclicality effects stemming from the implementation of the Solvency II regulatory framework, and, where relevant, the contribution of countercyclical mechanisms to financial stability, including with regard to the illiquidity premium, referred to in the proposed directive, could be further assessed.

6.3.   Remuneration policies and schemes: in accordance with the objectives of the Commission recommendation (20), the ECB generally welcomes the on-going work on remuneration policies and schemes in the context of the Solvency II implementation measures (21); the internationally agreed high-level principles of remuneration policies developed for banks and corresponding implementation standards (22) should apply to the insurance sector (23), also taking into account its specificities, where relevant.

6.4.   Credit assessments: under the proposed directive, EIOPA will be entrusted with certain tasks relating to the (i) assessment of the eligibility of external credit assessment institutions (ECAIs) and (ii) the allocation of their credit assessments to an objective scale of credit quality steps (24), in respect of which the Commission will have to adopt detailed criteria under the form of delegated acts (25). While the ECB in principle supports these new tasks entrusted to EIOPA and acknowledges the specificities of each of the financial services sectors, the ECB also notes that the eligibility of ECAIs is already addressed in the context of Directive 2006/48/EC (26) and Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 (27). Against this backdrop and in view of the cross-sectoral nature of these issues, the ECB therefore suggests, prior to any legislative action, an assessment involving the three ESAs with a view to ensuring consistency and synergies between the relevant Union sectoral legislation, including also possible implementing measures.

6.5.   Determination of ‘exceptional fall in financial markets’: in case of non-compliance with the Solvency Capital Requirement, an insurance or reinsurance undertaking is requested by the supervisory authority to take the necessary measures within a maximum period of nine months (28). In the event of exceptional fall in financial markets, the supervisory authority may extend this period by an appropriate period of time ‘taking into account all relevant factors’ (29). Under the proposed directive, EIOPA would identify and declare the existence of an event of exceptional fall in financial markets, in respect of which the Commission would adopt delegated acts specifying the procedures to be followed by EIOPA for the determination of the existence of such events and ‘the factors’ to be taken into account, including the maximum ‘appropriate period of time’ (30). The ECB supports the proposed role conferred upon EIOPA to ensure the consistency of approaches across Member States. For the same reason, consulting the ESRB and introducing qualitative and quantitative criteria, methods and requirements to determine such events might also be appropriate.

Further clarification should be provided of the interplay between the declarations by EIOPA of events of exceptional fall in financial markets, declarations by the Council of emergency situations within the meaning of the ESAs regulations (31) and also measures taken by supervisory authorities in exceptional circumstances in case of further deterioration of the financial situation of the undertaking concerned (32).

7.

While the ECB understands the needs for transitional requirements (33), it might be appropriate to reduce substantially in some instances the 10 year maximum periods foreseen for the adoption of certain transitional provisions to provide the appropriate incentives for timely application of the Solvency II reform (34). As an example and in view of the importance of a consistent approach to ensure quality reporting, the application of the methods and assumptions to be used in the valuation of assets and liabilities should take place within a reasonable timeframe.

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/17

(1)

By its Decision of 14 September 2009 (2), the Council appointed the members of the Governing Board of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the period from 18 September 2009 to 17 September 2012.

(2)

A member’s seat on the Governing Board of the Centre in the category of Employers’ representatives has become vacant as a result of the resignation of Mr Juan MENÉNDEZ VALDÉS ÁLVAREZ,

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/18

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/19

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/20

Regione Lombardia

Piazza Città di Lombardia 1

20124 Milano MI

ITALIA

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L.P. 28 marzo 2003, n. 4 «Legge provinciale in materia di agricoltura». Capo IX «Eventi calamitosi»; articolo 52 «Altri eventi naturali»,

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Del. n. 2362 del 15 ottobre 2010, Direttive per l’attuazione del Piano di controllo finalizzato all’eradicazione della Agalassia contagiosa negli allevamenti colpiti da Agalassia,

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Del. n. 1001 del 13 maggio 2011: «Disciplina relativa alla concessione degli indennizzi per i danni agli allevamenti colpiti da Agalassia contagiosa».

Provincia Autonoma di Trento

Servizio Aziende agricole e territorio rurale

Via G.B. Trener 3

38121 Trento TN

ITALIA

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http://www.consiglio.provincia.tn.it/banche_dati/codice_provinciale/clex_ricerca_per_campi.it.asp

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http://www.delibere.provincia.tn.it/ricerca_delibere.asp

Overall amount of the ad hoc aid awarded to the undertaking: EUR 0,01 million

Annual overall amount of the budget planned under the scheme: EUR 0,01 million

Provincie Limburg

Postbus 5700

6202 MA Maastricht

NEDERLAND

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/22

1.

requiring Anglo to:

2.

requiring INBS to:

(together, the ‘Requirements’);

3.

declaring that the imposition of the Requirements is a reorganisation measure for the purposes of Directive 2001/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 April 2001 (the ‘CIWUD Directive’) and the European Communities (Reorganisation and Winding-Up of Credit Institutions) Regulations 2011 (the ‘2011 Regulations’) and, accordingly, that the Requirements should have full effect in accordance with the CIWUD Directive, the 2011 Regulations and the Act, including, in particular but not limited to, section 61 of the Act; and

4.

declaring that the Requirements shall take effect immediately.

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/23

1.

On 20 January 2011, the German Federal Government requested the Commission, pursuant to Article 114(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the permission to retain the existing provisions provided in German law for the following five elements: lead, arsenic, mercury, barium and antimony, as well as for nitrosamines and nitrosatable substances released from toy material, beyond the date of entry into force of Annex II, Part III, of Directive 2009/48/EC (1) (hereafter ‘the Directive’).

2.

The German Consumer Goods Ordinance (Bedarfsgegenständeverordnung) sets requirements for nitrosamines and nitrosatable substances.

3.

The Consumer Goods Ordinance (Bedarfsgegenständeverordnung) requires that for nitrosamines and nitrosatable substances in toys made of natural or synthetic rubber designed for children under 36 months and intended or likely to be placed in the mouth, the amount released as a result of migration must be so small as not to be laboratory detectable.

4.

The abovementioned Ordinance currently requires the migration of nitrosamines and nitrosatable substances to be below 0,01 mg/kg for nitrosamines and below 0,1 mg/kg for nitrosatable substances.

5.

The detailed provisions on nitrosamines and nitrosatable substances are laid down in Annex 4, point 1.b, and Annex 10, point 6, of the Consumer Goods Ordinance (Bedarfsgegenständeverordnung), published on the 23 December 1997, and most recently amended by the Ordinance of 6 March 2007.

6.

The Second Equipment and Product Safety Act Ordinance (Zweite Verordnung zum Geräte- und Produktsicherheitsgesetz (Verordnung über die Sicherheit von Spielzeug) (2. GPSGV)) concerns in particular the following elements: lead, arsenic, mercury, barium and antimony. The limit values for the abovementioned elements contained in the Second Equipment and Product Safety Act Ordinance (Verordnung über die Sicherheit von Spielzeug — 2. GPSGV) are those laid down in Directive 88/378/EEC (2). The maximum daily bioavailability is 0,7 μg for lead, 0,1 μg for arsenic, 0,5 μg for mercury, 25 μg for barium and 0,2 μg for antimony.

7.

The detailed provisions on the abovementioned elements are laid down in paragraph 2 of the Second Equipment and Product Safety Act Ordinance (Verordnung über die Sicherheit von Spielzeug — 2. GPSGV), most recently amended by the Ordinance of 6 March 2007.

8.

The Directive lays down rules on the safety of toys and on their free movement in the Community. According to Article 54, Member States shall bring into force national provisions complying with this Directive by 20 January 2011, and they shall apply them as from 20 July 2011. Part III of Annex II of the Directive will be applicable as from 20 July 2013.

9.

The Directive contains, in Annex II, part III, point 8, specific values for nitrosamines and nitrosatable substances. These substances shall be prohibited for use in toys intended for use by children under 36 months or in other toys intended to be placed in the mouth if the migration of the substances is equal to or higher than 0,05 mg/kg for nitrosamines and 1 mg/kg for nitrosatable substances.

10.

Point 13 of part III of Annex II of the Directive contains specific migration limits for several elements, including lead, arsenic, mercury, barium and antimony. Three different migration limits exist, related to the type of toy material: dry, brittle, powder-like or pliable toy material, liquid or sticky toy material and scraped-off toy material. The following limits shall not be exceeded: 13,5, 3,4 and 160 mg/kg for lead, 3,8, 0,9 and 47 mg/kg for arsenic, 7,5, 1,9 and 94 mg/kg for mercury, 4 500, 1 125 and 56 000 mg/kg for barium, and 45, 11,3 and 560 mg/kg for antimony.

11.

By going further in terms of placing on the market, the current provisions contained in the German Ordinances are therefore more stringent than the legislation that will be applicable at EU level as from 20 July 2013.

12.

The German Federal Government argues that maintaining the current provisions is necessary in order to protect children's health, which needs appropriate protection from exposure to harmful chemical substances.

13.

For nitrosamines and nitrosatable substances, the German Federal Government considers that the limits contained in the Directive (0,05 mg/kg for nitrosamines and 1 mg/kg for nitrosatable substances) are appropriate only with regards to balloons. Balloons are only put shortly in the mouth during blowing up, while the contact scenario for other toys made of natural or synthetic rubber designed for children under 36 months and intended or likely to be placed in the mouth is longer. Therefore the exposure to nitrosamines in balloons is less important. For the toys made of natural or synthetic rubber designed for children under 36 months and intended or likely to be placed in the mouth, the limits should be based on the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle in order to provide an appropriate level of safety. Therefore, the German Federal Government considers that maintaining the detection limits below 0,01 mg/kg for nitrosamines and 0,1 mg/kg for nitrosatable substances will ensure an adequate level of protection for children when using rubber toys intended or likely to be placed in the mouth.

14.

With regards to certain elements, the German Federal Government argues that the limits for lead, arsenic, mercury, barium and antimony as established in the Directive are too high and may endanger the health and safety of children. The German authorities are aware that these limits are based on available tolerable daily intakes provided by the scientific community. However, using these tolerable daily intakes resulted in increasing the limits of the abovementioned heavy elements. This increase is considered as unnecessary by the German Federal Government. For lead and arsenic, only the ALARA principle can ensure an appropriate level of protection for children. For mercury, barium and antimony the German Federal Government argues that the lower limits contained in the Second Equipment and Product Safety Act Ordinance (Verordnung über die Sicherheit von Spielzeug — 2. GPSGV) considered as good manufacturing practices, should be maintained in order to ensure a higher level of protection for children.

15.

The present notification will be assessed in the light of Directive 2009/48/EC and in accordance with Article 114(4) of the TFEU. The Commission has six months to approve or reject the notified measures, during which it shall check that they do not constitute a mean of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction to trade and that they do not create unnecessary and disproportionate barriers to the functioning of the internal market.

16.

Any comment on the present notification shall be sent to the Commission within 30 days from the publication of this notice. Any comment submitted after these 30 days will not be taken into account.

17.

Further details about the German notification can be obtained from:

28.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 159/26

1.

On 20 May 2011, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which Raiffeisen Bank International AG (‘RBI’, Austria) and EFG Eurobank Ergasias S.A. (‘EFG’, Greece) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of, and merge, their respective subsidiaries Raiffeisenbank Polska S.A. (‘RBPL’, Poland), and Polbank EFG, (‘Polbank’, Poland) by way of purchase of shares.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

3.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope the EC Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.

4.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by e-mail to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number COMP/M.6168 — RBI/EFG Eurobank/JV, to the following address: