The Council held an "orientation debate (preliminary discussion aimed at preparing the ground for a political agreement) on the proposed Directive on information which must be provided by companies whose securities are traded on a regulated market, such as a stock exchange (the so-called transparency Directive - see IP/03/436 and MEMO/03/68). The debate focused on the obligation for listed companies to present quarterly financial information. Discussions will now continue at the level of the EU's Committee of Member States' Permanent Representatives.
Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein pointed out that of the around 7000 companies listed on a regulated market in the EU at the moment, some 2000 already produce quarterly reports. Under the Commission's proposal, these quarterly reports would have to be presented by share (but not bond) issuers in between the annual report and the half-yearly condensed financial report. They would comprise companies' net turnover, profit and loss before or after tax, plus if the issuer chooses to, short trend information on the company's future development. "Any manager worth his salt should in any case have these figures at his disposal and should be able to produce them easily", Mr Bolkestein told the Council. "Quarterly reporting obligations have existed in the US for decades", he continued, "and if US companies can do it, EU companies can too". He indicated that the Commission defended its original proposal but was open to a reasonable compromise.
Customs to strengthen security at external borders
The Council endorsed the Commission's plans to strengthen the role of customs in managing security at the EU's external borders. These plans, set out in a Communication presented by the Commission on 24th July 2003 (see IP/03/1100), aim to improve the security checks on goods to provide the public with more effective protection from dangerous goods coming into the EU. The Communication points out that, in view of the danger of deliberate attacks, and the health, environment and public safety risks associated with dangerous and illegal goods, security checks are not sufficiently harmonised, are too diversified and sometimes too slow to enable the authorities to respond to new threats. The Council called on the Commission to present urgently all necessary proposals to implement the approach outlined.
The Council Conclusions are as follows:
"THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
- RECALLING
- the Laeken European Council Conclusions of 14 and 15 December 2001 inviting the Council and the Commission "to work out arrangements for co-operation between services responsible for external border control and to examine the conditions in which a mechanism to control external borders could be created";
- the strategic goal set by the Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March 2000 for the Union "to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion";
- WELCOMES the Commission Communication on the role of customs in the integrated management of external borders which complements the earlier communication of May 2002 on the control of persons at external borders;
- RECOGNISES the central role of customs and the importance of customs co-operation in the control of all kinds of goods crossing EU borders;
- STRESSES the need to fully integrate safety and security aspects in the daily work of customs and RECOGNISES that this represents a new challenge which requires important adaptations to both the organisational and the legislative framework governing the tasks of customs. Meeting this challenge represents, at the same time, a valuable contribution to the world-wide efforts to secure the supply chain;
- EMPHASIZES the importance, with regard to the management of the external borders and considering the forthcoming enlargement of the European Union, of ensuring optimal, facilitated conditions for a rapid flow of international trade without prejudice to the need for society and the economy to be effectively protected against unfair or illegal operations. Such a balance can only be achieved through well-organised control mechanisms that are based on the concepts of risk analysis and risk selection, on security criteria, and on simplification of customs procedures;
- RECALLS that the strategic goal set by the Lisbon European Council can only be achieved through a well-functioning internal market. An enhanced legal framework and effective external border controls of movements of goods are therefore essential to protect Community interests and to counter the risk of distortion of competition, in particular resulting from the introduction of harmful or counterfeit goods or other practices incompatible with international trade rules;
- RECOGNISES the importance of measures to combat fraud against the financial interests of the European Union and the Member States in the context of achieving the objective of ensuring equal conditions of competition in the internal market;
- EXPRESSES its support for strengthening the co-operation and the information exchange between all administrations or agencies and operators involved in international trade whilst simplifying procedures, inter alia by implementing a single window, and promoting the electronic transmission of data related to the movement of goods; increasing co-operation with third countries, in particular those in neighbouring areas; maximising the effectiveness of the external border controls of goods by concentrating them on consignments that pose a risk for safety and security.
Other controls that do not put into question the admissibility of goods into the EU or other Community or national interests should be carried out by the customs office where customs clearance can best be effected; ensuring an equivalent level of protection at all entry and exit points of the European Union through the development of common risk criteria for the selection of controls. Such an approach should, however, leave room for the application of appropriate national or regional criteria and, for its effective application, be supported by the full range of facilities available to a modern customs administration; further developing and adapting the necessary legal and regulatory framework governing customs control;
- INVITES the Commission to urgently present all necessary proposals to implement the approach outlined above paying special attention to strengthening the information exchange between all administrations or agencies and operators involved in international trade;
- INVITES the Commission and the Member States, within their respective competencies, to:
- work towards an integrated management of external borders, ensuring a close co-operation between the services responsible for the control of persons and those responsible for the control of goods at the external border in order to fulfil the request of the Laeken European Council;
- assess what control tools are considered to be appropriate for the efficient management of external borders and to explore ways in which they could be financed, including aspects of possible burden sharing;
- take the necessary complementary legal, regulatory and operational measures to accomplish the aforementioned objectives in order to ensure a better management of EU external borders."
