Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-26-Speech-1-110"
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"en.20050926.15.1-110"2
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".
Mr President, I would like to thank Bert Doorn, and the Legal Affairs Committee, for the excellent work done on this dossier. Efficient cooperation between the institutions should make it possible to adopt this proposal in a single reading.
Statutory audit is a very important subject for Europe. Recent scandals highlighted the need to reply to new challenges. In order to modernise statutory audit, the revised directive will clarify the duties of statutory auditors, their independence and their ethics. It will also require the application of international standards on auditing and will set the criteria for robust public oversight of the audit profession. We must have proper auditors in the EU. This benefits everyone: the companies themselves, investors and savers, both large and small. Economic confidence will grow.
Let me just say a few words on the question of limiting auditor liability. This question has arisen during debates on this directive, although it was not in the Commission’s original proposal. Auditors are wary of taking on new audits because they are afraid of unlimited liability. I can see the arguments in favour of acting at EU level, as there could potentially be an impact on the internal market. I intend to work actively to see what can be done in this regard. As a first step, I intend to launch a study in the near future.
The proposed amendments take account of the discussions in the Council, and also enjoy strong support from the audit industry. The solutions proposed by your rapporteur are, furthermore, well balanced and respect the Commission’s initial intentions with this legislation. So we strongly support the outcome.
As was the case with the previous report that we discussed, comitology is once again the only outstanding issue. The situation is very similar to what was said in the context of Mr Radwan’s report on the capital requirements directive just a few moments ago. I refer to the statements I made in that context so I do not need to repeat myself.
Implementing powers are very important for the eighth company law directive. Many technical issues and adaptations require the availability of comitology powers. This was also confirmed by the Council when it expressed its support for the overall compromise package of amendments. The Committee of Permanent Representatives considered that a sunset clause under which the implementing powers would be suspended could harm the effective implementation of this directive. It therefore asked Parliament to consider the implications of such a sunset clause carefully.
The Commission shares the concerns expressed by the Council. Yet it also recognises Parliament’s view that its role in supervising the exercise of delegated authority must be brought in line with its standing in the codecision procedure. Pending an overall solution for comitology, the Commission understands that Parliament would wish to limit the delegated authority in time. For the Commission it is essential that this period be long enough to ensure proper implementation of the directive. I understand that your rapporteur would propose a sunset clause of two years after the entry into force of the directive, but 1 April 2008 at the latest. This would not, however, apply to Article 26, on international auditing standards. The Commission can agree with this. This solution would correspond with the solution found in Mr Radwan's report on the proposed capital requirements directive. The Commission also calls on the Council to show flexibility, but above all to consider the revision of the 1999 comitology decision as a priority."@en1
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