Brussels, 18/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 15 November, the Ecofin Council debated the position of the European Union in the adoption of international financial reporting standards, IFRS, on the basis of the Maystadt report, which was presented last week (see EUROPE 10961).
The ministers are open to the idea of bringing in a dose of flexibility when incorporating the standards adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) into European legislation. This possibility should be subject to strict rules and be permitted under exceptional circumstances, they argue. According to a European source, however, a number of countries have reservations over this flexibility issue.
On the governance aspects, the Council is in favour of a reorganisation of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) to increase its legitimacy and representiveness. They feel that there is no need to transfer the group's responsibilities to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) or to create a dedicated European agency.
“I place particular importance on the swift implementation of the recommendations of the report by Philippe Maystadt so that our businesses and users of their financial reports are guaranteed to benefit from better international accounting standards as soon as possible”, said Commissioner for the Internal Market Michel Barnier. The Ecofin Council has asked the Commission to continue work on the basis of the approach outlined and to report back at a forthcoming ministerial meeting. (MB/transl.fl)