Strasbourg, 13/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - Approving its rapporteur, British Conservative Lord Inglewood, the European Parliament approved at first reading, on 12 March, the proposal of regulation presented by the European Commission on application of international accounting standards (IAS). The Commission may accept all the Parliament's amendments except one, for procedural reasons, said Commissioner Frits Bolkestein. He felt that the Union thus sends a powerful political signal about its intention to achieve an integrated capital market by 2005 and is part of the forerunners concerning the development of international accounting principles, above all strengthening its position compared to the United States. Mr Bolkestein said that, during his visit to Washington in May, he would appeal to the US authorities to accept these new standards (see EUROPE of 22 February, p.9 on the subject of Euro-American divergence over this issue). Mr Bolkestein reassured the Parliament on two points: the procedures foreseen in the "Lamfalussy" context are being applied with regard to this proposal; and the application of these accounting principles in SMEs is being left to the discretion of each Member State. The Enron affair, added the Commissioner, demonstrates the need to have clear accounts, but should not destroy the confidence of citizens and investors in international financial markets. The Commission, for its part, is developing a paper on the verification and transparency of corporate accounts, he noted. Lord Inglewood recalled that, although new procedures alone cannot eliminate fraud, they can strengthen investor confidence. He placed emphasis on a number of positive elements: - the European Commission will have a key role in fixing future norms; - through an advisory committee, it will maintain close contact with the companies concerned; - and the European companies that present their accounts to the United States may benefit from a temporary two-year exception.