ECOFIN agreed that this requirement should go into effect in 2005 at the latest. However, companies that currently apply US GAAP as their primary financial reporting standards would not have to apply IAS until 2007. The 2007 extended deadline for companies using US GAAP was inserted at the request of the German government. EU Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said:
The International Accounting Standards Regulation will introduce a new era of transparency and put an end to the current Tower of Babel in financial reporting. It will help European firms to compete on equal terms when raising capital on world markets and allow investors and other stakeholders to compare companies' performance against a common standard. However, I regret the Ministers' decision to grant some big companies the right to apply US GAAP standards until 2007, two years after the Lisbon deadline for completing the Internal Market in financial services.
|
The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament met on 18-19 December 2001 to discuss the IAS regulation. The Council can adopt a Common Position on the Regulation once it has received an Opinion from the European Parliament.