(1)

Following the authorisation given to the Commission on 15 May 2006, negotiations with the Republic of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the Swiss Confederation regarding the participation by those States in the work of the committees which assist the Commission in the exercise of its executive powers as regards the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis have been concluded.

(2)

Subject to its conclusion at a later date, the Arrangement between the European Union and the Republic of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the Swiss Confederation on the participation by those States in the work of the committees which assist the European Commission in the exercise of its executive powers as regards the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (‘the Arrangement’) initialled on 30 June 2009 should be signed and the attached Joint Declaration be approved.

(3)

This Decision does not prejudice the position of the United Kingdom, under the Protocol on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and Council Decision 2000/365/EC of 29 May 2000, concerning the request of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis (1).

(4)

This Decision does not prejudice the position of Ireland, under the Protocol on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and Council Decision 2002/192/EC of 28 February 2002, concerning Ireland’s request to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis (2).

(5)

This Decision shall not prejudice the position of Denmark, under the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

(1)

Following the authorisation given to the Commission on 15 May 2006, negotiations with the Republic of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the Swiss Confederation regarding the participation by those States in the work of the committees which assist the Commission in the exercise of its executive powers as regards the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis have been concluded.

(2)

In accordance with Council Decision 2012/192/EU (1), and subject to its conclusion at a later date, the Arrangement between the European Union and the Republic of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the Swiss Confederation on the participation by those States in the work of the committees which assist the European Commission in the exercise of its executive powers as regards the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (‘the Arrangement’) has been signed on behalf of the European Union on 22 September 2011.

(3)

The Arrangement should be concluded.

(4)

This Decision does not prejudice the position of the United Kingdom, under the Protocol on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and Council Decision 2000/365/EC of 29 May 2000 concerning the request of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis (2).

(5)

This Decision does not prejudice the position of Ireland, under the Protocol on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and Council Decision 2002/192/EC of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland’s request to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis (3).

(6)

This Decision shall not prejudice the position of Denmark, under the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

(1)

Article 23(4) of Directive 2004/109/EC requires the Commission to set up a mechanism for the determination of the equivalence of the information required under this Directive. The Commission is required to adopt measures to establish general equivalence criteria regarding accounting standards relevant to issuers of more than one country. Article 23(4) of Directive 2004/109/EC also requires the Commission to take decisions in relation to the equivalence of accounting standards used by third country issuers, and enables the Commission to allow the use of third country accounting standards during an appropriate transitional period. Given the close interconnection of the information required under Directive 2004/109/EC with the information required under Directive 2003/71/EC, it is appropriate that the same criteria for determination of equivalence apply in the framework of both Directives.

(2)

Accordingly, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1569/2007 (3) laid down the conditions for acceptance of third country accounting standards for a limited period expiring on 31 December 2011.

(3)

The Commission evaluated the usefulness and functioning of the equivalence mechanism and concluded that it should be extended for a period of 3 years until 31 December 2014. Since the period for which the Commission had put in place conditions for granting equivalence to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of third countries expired on 31 December 2011, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2012. This is necessary in order to provide legal certainty to issuers from the relevant third countries listed in the Union and avoid the risk that they might have to reconcile their financial statements with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The provision of retroactivity thus alleviates any potential additional burden on the issuers concerned.

(4)

In order to ensure that a determination of the equivalence of third country accounting standards is made in all cases that are relevant to the Union markets, the Commission should assess the equivalence of third country accounting standards either upon a request from the competent authority of a Member State or an authority responsible for accounting standards or market supervision of a third country, or on its own initiative. The Commission should consult the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) with regard to the technical aspects of the assessment of equivalence of the accounting standards in question. The Union issuers should also be permitted to use IFRS adopted pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) in the third country concerned.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 1569/2007 should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 809/2004 (2) requires third country issuers to prepare the historical financial information in prospectuses for offer of securities to the public or the admission of securities to trading on a regulated market in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or with the national accounting standards of a third country provided they are equivalent to these standards.

(2)

In order to assess the equivalence of the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of a third country with adopted IFRS, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1569/2007 (3) provides for the definition of equivalence and establishes a mechanism for the determination of equivalence of the GAAP of a third country. According to the conditions of the equivalence mechanism, third country issuers could be permitted to use the GAAP of third countries which were converging or committed to adopt IFRS for a transitional period ending on 31 December 2011. It is important to assess the efforts of those countries which have taken steps to converge their accounting standards to or adopt IFRS. Therefore, Regulation (EC) No 1569/2007 has been amended to extend this transitional period until 31 December 2014. The Commission took account of the report provided by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in November 2010 on China, Canada, India, and South Korea, which had received a transitional period by Commission Decision 2008/961/EC of 12 December 2008 on the use by third countries’ issuers of securities of certain third country’s national accounting standards and International Financial Reporting Standards to prepare their consolidated financial statements (4) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1289/2008 of 12 December 2008 amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 809/2004 implementing Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards elements related to prospectuses and advertisements (5), as well as the updates on China and India from April 2011.

(3)

In April 2010 the Ministry of Finance of China issued a ‘Roadmap for Continuing Convergence of the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises with IFRS’ (ASBE) which reiterated China’s commitment to continue the process of convergence to IFRS. As of October 2010 all current standards and interpretations issued by International Accounting Standards Board have been implemented in the ASBE. The level of convergence has been reported by ESMA as being satisfactory and the differences do not amount to non-compliance with IFRS. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider the Chinese ASBE equivalent to adopted IFRS as of 1 January 2012.

(4)

The Accounting Standards Board of Canada made a public commitment in January 2006 to adopt IFRS by 31 December 2011. It has approved the incorporation of IFRS into the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Handbook as Canadian GAAP for all publicly accountable profit-oriented enterprises starting in 2011. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider the Canadian GAAP equivalent to adopted IFRS as of 1 January 2012.

(5)

The Korean Financial Supervisory Commission and the Korean Accounting Institute made a public commitment in March 2007 to adopt IFRS by 31 December 2011. The Korean Accounting Standards Board has adopted IFRS as Korean IFRS (K-IFRS). K-IFRS are identical to IFRS and are required for all listed companies in South Korea since 2011. Unlisted financial institutions and state-owned companies are also required to apply K-IFRS. Other unlisted companies may choose to do so. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider the GAAP of South Korea equivalent to adopted IFRS as of 1 January 2012.

(6)

The Indian Government and the Indian Institute of Chartered Accountants made a public commitment in July 2007 to adopt IFRS by 31 December 2011 with the aim that Indian GAAP would be fully IFRS compliant by the end of the programme. However, following an on-the-spot investigation in January 2011, ESMA observed that the Indian GAAP appear to have a number of differences from IFRS which could be significant in practice. Uncertainties remain about the timetable for the implementation of an IFRS-compliant reporting system. As there are no issuers in India who have taken advantage of the voluntary early application of IFRS, there is no experience regarding IFRS enforcement.

(7)

Accordingly, it is appropriate to extend the transitional period for no more than 3 years, until 31 December 2014, in order to allow third country issuers to prepare their annual and half-yearly financial statements in accordance with the GAAP of India in the Union.

(8)

Since the transitional period for which equivalence was granted to the GAAP of China, Canada, South-Korea and India under Regulation (EC) No 809/2004 expired on 31 December 2011, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2012. This is necessary in order to provide legal certainty to issuers from these third countries listed in the Union and avoid the risk that they might have to reconcile their financial statements with IFRS. The provision of retroactivity thus alleviates any potential additional burden on the issuers concerned.

(9)

Regulation (EC) No 809/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

in paragraph 5, the second subparagraph is added:

‘In addition to standards referred to in the first subparagraph, from 1 January 2012, third country issuers may present their historical financial information in accordance with the following standards:

(2)

paragraph 5a is replaced by the following:

(1)

Regulation (EU) No 973/2010 temporarily suspended customs duties on the imports of certain industrial products into the Azores and Madeira. The goods for agricultural, commercial or industrial use to which the suspension applies are set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 973/2010. The raw materials, parts and components used for agricultural purposes, industrial transformation or maintenance for which the suspension applies are set out in Annex II to that Regulation. Those goods are listed in the Annexes using the codes of the Combined Nomenclature applicable for 2009 as set out in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1031/2008 (2).

(2)

The Combined Nomenclature has been replaced by Commission Regulation (EU) No 861/2010 of 5 October 2010 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (3) and by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1006/2011 of 27 September 2011 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (4). As a consequence of those amendments, certain technical adaptations to the CN codes listed in Annexes I and II to Regulation (EU) No 973/2010 should be made.

(3)

Regulation (EU) No 973/2010 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4)

As certain amendments to the CN codes apply from 1 January 2011, the corresponding amendments to Regulation (EU) No 973/2010 should apply from that date,

(1)

Annex I is amended as follows:

(2)

in Annex II CN code 7323 99 99 is replaced by CN code 7323 99 00 .

(1)

Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 establishes for each Member State the maximum value of all payment entitlements that can be allocated during a calendar year. In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 40(1), Annex VIII should be adapted to take into account the notifications of the Member States in accordance with Article 188a(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) (2) with regard to wine.

(2)

In accordance with Article 188a(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 and the second subparagraph of Article 40(1) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal and Slovenia notified the Commission of the areas grubbed up and the regional average of the value of the entitlements referred to in point B of Annex IX to Regulation (EC) No 73/2009.

(3)

Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 establishes for each Member State the ceilings which may not be exceeded by the total amounts of the direct payments, net of modulation, which may be granted in respect of a calendar year in the Member State concerned.

(4)

Following the notifications of the Member States in accordance with Article 188a(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 and the second subparagraph of Article 40(1) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, the total maximum amounts of direct payments that may be granted need to be increased. Therefore, in accordance with Article 8(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, the ceilings set out in Annex IV to that Regulation should be reviewed.

(5)

Annexes IV and VIII to Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Direct Payments,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 of 27 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 on the common organisation of the market in wine as regards support programmes, trade with third countries, production potential and on controls in the wine sector (2) lays down under Title V and notably in Article 82 that where a Member State designates several competent bodies to check compliance with the rules governing the wine sector it shall coordinate the work of those bodies. This provision does not fully meet the coordination needs among the various control bodies within the framework of the movements of wine products subject to excise duty due to the use in the wine sector of documents established in accordance with Council Directive 2008/118/EC of 16 December 2008 concerning the general arrangements for excise duty (3). In particular, the measures that the Member States shall take should be specified with respect to giving the bodies which are competent to check compliance with the rules governing the wine sector access to the information on the movements of products subject to excise duty carried out under Directive 2008/118/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 684/2009 of 24 July 2009 implementing Council Directive 2008/118/EC as regards the computerised procedures for the movement of excise goods under suspension of excise duty (4). In particular, it is appropriate that account be taken of the Excise Movement and Control System set up under Decision No 1152/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 2003 on computerising the movement and surveillance of excisable products (5).

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 should therefore be amended by allowing for gradual implementation of new provisions, in view of the time required by the Member States’ administrations to implement measures concerning the coordination of controls and access to information.

(3)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 436/2009 of 26 May 2009 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 as regards the vineyard register, compulsory declarations and the gathering of information to monitor the wine market, the documents accompanying consignments of wine products and the wine sector registers to be kept (6) establishes under Title III and in particular Articles 21 to 31 the nature of the accompanying documents admissible for the consignment of wine products, the rules governing the use of these documents at national and Union level and for export and the conditions with regard to authentication of certificates of origin for wines with protected designation of origin (PDO) or protected geographic indication (PGI). These provisions are, by now, partially obsolete or do not take into account all the amendments made to Union legislation on these issues since the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 436/2009. This is notably the case for the use since 1 January 2011 of the electronic administrative document referred to in Article 21(1) of Directive 2008/118/EC, established in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 684/2009, for the amendment of procedures relating to the control of the exit of products from the territory of the Union following the widespread use of electronic procedures by the Union’s customs authorities and lastly for the amendment of rules governing PDO, PGI and indications on the vintage year or the wine-grape varieties as a result of the reforms in the wine sector since 1 January 2009. It is therefore necessary to amend the Articles concerned and to delete certain obsolete definitions.

(4)

The amendments made in this context should enable the use of accompanying documents recognised under Regulation (EC) No 436/2009 for wine products to certify the PDO or PGI and the vintage year or wine-grape variety, including where these documents are drawn up by the consignor. In this respect, the conditions in which the accompanying documents shall be deemed authentic should be laid down.

(5)

The formalities relating to the exit of products from the customs territory of the Union have been modified since the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 436/2009. They are carried out according to new conditions laid down in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (7). Rules should therefore be laid down on the procedure for the export and the effective exit of wine products from the customs territory of the Union in accordance with these new conditions, by specifying the obligations on the consignor or the consignor’s agent.

(6)

With regard to the consignment of unpackaged wine products, it is appropriate, in view of the implementation by the Member States of information systems permitting the automatic exchange of information, to simplify the requirements established under Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 436/2009.

(7)

For any consignment in the customs territory of the Union of wine products declared, where appropriate, as originating from a third country or originating in the Union and initially dispatched to a third country or a territory as defined in Article 5(2) and (3) of Directive 2008/118/EC, the rules for controlling their origin are not specified. The information that the accompanying document shall include should be laid down in order to verify the origin.

(8)

Furthermore, in the interests of clarity and reducing the administrative burdens, the content of certain obligations provided for in Regulation (EC) No 436/2009 should be established or specified and procedures simplified in relation to the certificates required for the accompanying documents and evidence, and documents to be supplied by operators to the authorities and competent bodies of the Member States and, if necessary to third countries, notably with regard to the PDO and PGI certificates and the certification of wines and wine products marketed with the indication of the vintage year or the wine-grape variety(ies) and to take into consideration, for enhanced transparency and traceability, the references of these designations in the E-Bacchus register set up and updated by the Commission, in accordance with Article 18 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 607/2009 of 14 July 2009 laying down certain detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 as regards protected designations of origin and geographical indications, traditional terms, labelling and presentation of certain wine sector products (8).

(9)

For the sake of reducing the administrative burdens, the obligation established in Article 41 of Regulation (EC) No 436/2009 concerning the indication in the registers of the addition of sulphites should be waived, given that the sulphites are added at different stages in production and wine handling and that the final content does not correspond to the amount of sulphites indicated.

(10)

In the interests of effective administrative management and taking into account the experience acquired through the use of information systems put in place by the Commission, the way in which certain information is managed and made available by the Commission should be simplified and improved, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 436/2009.

(11)

Regulation (EC) No 436/2009 should therefore be amended, while providing for a deferred application of certain provisions, in view of the time required by the Member States to implement measures concerning the use of accompanying and certification documents established under this Regulation.

(12)

The measures set out in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets,

(1)

Article 21 shall be replaced by the following:

(2)

Article 22(d), (e) and (f) are deleted;

(3)

Articles 23 and 24 shall be replaced by the following:

(*3)   OJ L 9, 14.1.2009, p. 12."

(*4)   OJ L 369, 18.12.1992, p. 17.’;"

(4)

Article 26 shall be replaced by the following:

(5)

Article 27 is amended as follows:

(6)

Article 28 is deleted;

(7)

Articles 29, 30 and 31 are replaced by the following:

(8)

Article 39(1) is amended as follows:

(9)

Article 41(1)(u) is deleted;

(10)

the following paragraph is added to Article 49:

(11)

a new paragraph 5 is added to Article 50:

(12)

Annex VI is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation;

(13)

Annex VII is deleted;

(14)

Annexes VIII and IX are replaced by the wording in Annex II to this Regulation;

(15)

new Annexes IXa and IXb, the wording of which is in Annex III to this Regulation, shall be added.

(1)

In accordance with Article 3 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 606/2009 (2), the authorised oenological practices are laid down in Annex I to that Regulation. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) has amended the conditions of use of certain oenological practices already authorised in the European Union. In order to meet the international standards in this field and to provide EU producers with the same possibilities available to third-country producers, the conditions of use of these oenological practices should be amended in the EU in accordance with the conditions of use defined by the OIV.

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 606/2009 authorises the use of polyvinylimidazole/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVI/PVP) copolymers in order to reduce the copper, iron and heavy metal content, provided that they comply with the requirements of the International Oenological Codex published by the OIV, especially as regards the maximum monomer content. As the OIV has not yet adopted such requirements, and for the sake of legal clarity, this practice should be deleted from Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 606/2009.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 606/2009 authorises the use of chitosan and chitin-glucan of fungoid origin. At present in the EU, these products are only prepared from the Aspergillus niger mushroom. As the OIV authorises these products and the International Oenological Codex published by the OIV specifies that they derive from the Aspergillus niger mushroom, this information should be included in Regulation (EC) No 606/2009.

(4)

Wines entitled to the protected designation of origin ‘Douro’ and the protected geographical indication ‘Duriense’ followed by the statement ‘colheita tardia’ derogate from the maximum sulphur dioxide content. Portugal has requested that all Portuguese wines that have the same characteristics as these wines and are entitled to a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication followed by the statement ‘colheita tardia’ be granted this derogation. A maximum sulphur dioxide content of 400 milligrams per litre should be authorised for these wines.

(5)

As the traditional specific term ‘vino generoso’ no longer applies solely to liqueur wines, the provision on the use of this term referred to in point 8 of Part B of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 606/2009 should be adapted.

(6)

Regulation (EC) No 606/2009 should be amended accordingly.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Regulatory Committee established by Article 195(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007,

(a)

Annex I A is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation;

(b)

Annex I B is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation;

(c)

Annex III is amended in accordance with Annex III to this Regulation.

(1)

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 lists the persons, groups and entities covered by the freezing of funds and economic resources under that Regulation.

(2)

On 20 March 2012 the Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council decided to amend twelve entries on its list of persons, groups and entities to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources should apply. On 2 April 2012 it decided to remove one natural person from the list after considering the de-listing request submitted by this person and the Comprehensive Report of the Ombudsperson established pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1904(2009).

(3)

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 should therefore be updated accordingly.

(4)

In order to ensure that the measures provided for in this Regulation are effective, this Regulation should enter into force immediately,

(1)

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 lays down, pursuant to the outcome of the Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations, the criteria whereby the Commission fixes the standard values for imports from third countries, in respect of the products and periods stipulated in Annex XVI, Part A thereto.

(2)

The standard import value is calculated each working day, in accordance with Article 136(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011, taking into account variable daily data. Therefore this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,

(1)

The representative prices and additional duties applicable to imports of white sugar, raw sugar and certain syrups for the 2011/12 marketing year are fixed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 971/2011 (3). Those prices and duties were last amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 306/2012 (4).

(2)

The data currently available to the Commission indicate that those amounts should be amended in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No 951/2006.

(3)

Given the need to ensure that this measure applies as soon as possible after the updated data have been made available, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication,

(1)

Pursuant to Article 23 of Directive 2004/109/EC, third country issuers may be exempted from the requirement of preparing consolidated accounts according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adopted in the Union if the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of the third country in question lay down equivalent requirements. In order to assess the equivalence of that third country’s GAAP with adopted IFRS, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1569/2007 (2) provides for the definition of equivalence and establishes a mechanism for the determination of equivalence of the GAAP of a third country.

(2)

It is important to assess the efforts of those countries which have taken steps to converge their accounting standards to or adopt IFRS. Therefore, Regulation (EC) No 1569/2007 has been amended to extend the period of temporary equivalence until 31 December 2014.

(3)

Commission Decision 2008/961/EC (3) provided that third country issuers may also prepare their consolidated accounts from 1 January 2009 in accordance with IFRS. According to that Decision prior to financial years starting on or after 1 January 2012, third country issuers are permitted to prepare their annual and half-yearly consolidated financial statements in accordance with the GAAP of the People’s Republic of China, Canada, the Republic of Korea or the Republic of India.

(4)

In June 2010, the Commission requested the then Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), replaced by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) by Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC (4), to provide a technical assessment and an update on developments towards IFRS in China, Canada, South Korea and India. The Commission has taken full account of the report provided by CESR in November 2010 and the updates on China and India, received from ESMA in May 2011 following an on-the-spot investigation which it undertook in January 2011.

(5)

In April 2010 the Ministry of Finance of China issued a ‘Roadmap for Continuing Convergence of the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises (ASBE) with IFRS’ which reiterated China’s commitment to continue the process of convergence to IFRS. As of October 2010 all current standards and interpretations issued by International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have been implemented in the ASBE. The level of convergence has been reported by ESMA as being satisfactory and reconciliation for the Union issuers which prepare their financial statements in accordance with IFRS is not required. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider the Chinese ASBE equivalent to adopted IFRS as of 1 January 2012.

(6)

The Accounting Standards Board of Canada made a public commitment in January 2006 to adopt IFRS by 31 December 2011. It has approved the incorporation of IFRS into the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Handbook as Canadian GAAP for all publicly accountable profit-oriented enterprises starting in 2011. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider the Canadian GAAP equivalent to adopted IFRS as of 1 January 2012.

(7)

The Korean Financial Supervisory Commission and the Korean Accounting Institute made a public commitment in March 2007 to adopt IFRS by 31 December 2011. The Korean Accounting Standards Board has adopted IFRS as Korean IFRS (K-IFRS). K-IFRS are identical to IFRS as issued by the IASB and are required for all listed companies in South Korea since 2011. Unlisted financial institutions and state-owned companies are also required to apply K-IFRS. Other unlisted companies may choose to do so. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider the South-Korean GAAP equivalent to adopted IFRS as of 1 January 2012.

(8)

The Indian Government and the Indian Institute of Chartered Accountants made a public commitment in July 2007 to adopt IFRS by 31 December 2011 with the aim that Indian GAAP would be fully IFRS compliant by the end of the programme. Following an on-the-spot investigation in January 2011, ESMA observed that the Indian Accounting Standards appear to have a number of differences from IFRS. Uncertainties remain about the timetable for the implementation of an IFRS-compliant reporting system.

(9)

Accordingly, it is appropriate to extend the transitional period for no more than three years, until 31 December 2014, in order to allow third country issuers to prepare their annual and half-yearly financial statements in accordance with the GAAPs of India in the Union.

(10)

Since the transitional period for which Decision 2008/961/EC granted equivalence to Chinese, Canadian, South-Korean and Indian GAAPs ended on 31 December 2011, for the sake of legal certainty, this Decision should apply from 1 January 2012.

(11)

Decision 2008/961/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(12)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the European Securities Committee,

1.

the second paragraph is replaced by the following:

‘From 1 January 2012, with regard to annual consolidated financial statements and half-yearly consolidated financial statements, the following standards shall be considered as equivalent to IFRS adopted pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002:

2.

the following third paragraph is added:

‘Third country issuers shall be permitted to prepare their annual consolidated financial statements and half-yearly consolidated financial statements in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles of the Republic of India for financial years starting before 1 January 2015.’.

(1)

The Agreement was signed on 21 June 1999 and entered into force on 1 June 2002.

(2)

Annex II to the Agreement on the coordination of social security schemes was last amended by Decision No 1/2006 of the EU-Swiss Joint Committee (2) and should now be updated to take account of the new legal acts of the European Union that have entered into force since then, in particular Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems (3) and the measures adopted to implement that Regulation.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 has replaced Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community (4).

(4)

In the interests of clarity and rationality, Annex II to the Agreement and the Protocol to that Annex should be consolidated in a legally binding version.

(5)

Annex II to the Agreement should be maintained in line with the evolution of the relevant legal acts of the European Union,