Commission Regulation (EC) No 2237/2004

of 29 December 2004

amending Regulation (EC) No 1725/2003 adopting certain international accounting standards in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards IAS No 32 and IFRIC 1

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards [1], and in particular Article 3(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) By Commission Regulation (EC) No 1725/2003 [2] certain international standards and interpretations that were extant at 1 September were adopted.

(2) On 17 December 2003 the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) published revised International Accounting Standard (IAS) 32 Financial instruments: disclosure and presentation as part of the IASB’s initiative to improve 15 standards in time for them to be used by companies adopting IAS for the first time in 2005. In revising IAS 32, the IASB did not reconsider the fundamental approaches contained in it. IAS 32 establishes basic principles for the classification of instruments as liabilities or equity. In determining whether the instruments should be classified as liabilities or equity, the entity must consider all of the terms and conditions of the respective contract.

(3) Following bilateral discussions with representatives of the cooperative world and due to a request by the Commission, the IASB invited its International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee (IFRIC), to develop an interpretation to facilitate the application of the revised IAS 32. A final interpretation, IFRIC 2 Members’ shares in cooperative entities and similar instrument was published in final form on 25 November 2004. The effective date of application of this interpretation is the same as that for IAS 32. IFRIC 2 will be considered for endorsement by the European Commission as soon as possible in 2005.

(4) On 27 May 2004, the IASB released IFRIC Interpretation 1 Changes in existing decommissioning, restoration and similar liabilities. The Interpretation addresses the way to account for changes in existing decommissioning, restoration and similar liabilities that fall within the scope of IAS 16 Property, plant and equipment and are recognised as a provision under IAS 37 Provisions, contingent liabilities and contingent assets.

(5) The consultation with technical experts in the field confirms that the revised IAS 32 Financial instruments: disclosure and presentation and IFRIC Interpretation 1 Changes in existing decommissioning, restoration and similar liabilities meet the technical criteria for adoption set out in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 and in particular the requirement of being conducive to the European public good.

(6) Regulation (EC) No 1725/2003 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Accounting Regulatory Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex to regulation (EC) No 1725/2003 is amended as follows:

(1) the text of International Accounting Standard (IAS) 32 Financial instruments: disclosure and presentation set out in the Annex to this Regulation, is inserted.

(2) the text of the Interpretation IFRIC 1 Changes in existing decommissioning, restoration and similar liabilities set out in the Annex to this Regulation, is inserted.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2005 at the latest.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 29 December 2004.

For the Commission

Charlie McCreevy

Member of the Commission

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[1] OJ L 243, 11.9.2002, p. 1

[2] OJ L 261, 13.10.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2236/2004 (OJ L 392, 31.12.2004, p. 1).

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