Brussels, 13/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The Commissioner for the Internal Market, Michel Barnier, on Tuesday 12 October welcomed the appointment of Hans Hoogervorst of the Netherlands to the head of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the international private organisation responsible for drafting the international accounting standards (IFRS). “I look forward to working with Hans and with the IFRS Foundation's Trustees in order to continue strengthening the governance and accountability of the IASB. I have full confidence that Hans understands the importance of continuing to make progress in this direction”, he said in a press release. Hoogervorst, who was the Dutch Finance Minister between 2002 and 2003, headed the IASB supervision group made up of the public authorities which apply the IFRS standards. Reiterating the importance of a convergence of accounting standards at an international level, the Commissioner referred to the decision of the Securities Exchange Commission, announced for 2011, on the use of the IFRS standards by US companies. (M.B./trans.fl)