1.The competent authorities of the Member States shall inform the Commission: (a) of the authorization of any firm which is the direct or indirect subsidiary of a parent undertaking governed by the law of a third country; (b) whenever such a parent undertaking acquires a holding in a Community investment firm such that the latter would become its subsidiary. In both cases the Commission shall inform the Council until such time as a committee on transferable securities is set up by the Council acting on a proposal from the Commission. When authorization is granted to any firm which is the direct or indirect subsidiary of a parent undertaking governed by the law of a third country, the competent authorities shall specify the structure of the group in the notification which they address to the Commission.
2.The Member States shall inform the Commission of any general difficulties which their investment firms encounter in establishing themselves or providing investment services in any third country.
3.Initially no later than six months before this Directive is brought into effect and thereafter periodically the Commission shall draw up a report examining the treatment accorded to Community investment firms in third countries, in the terms referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5, as regards establishment, the carrying on of investment services activities and the acquisition of holdings in third-country investment firms. The Commission shall submit those reports to the Council together with any appropriate proposals.
4.Whenever it appears to the Commission, either on the basis of the reports provided for in paragraph 3 or on the basis of other information, that a third country does not grant Community investment firms effective market access comparable to that granted by the Community to investment firms from that third country, the Commission may submit proposals to the Council for an appropriate mandate for negotiation with a view to obtaining comparable competitive opportunities for Community investment firms. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
5.Whenever it appears to the Commission, either on the basis of the reports referred to in paragraph 3 or on the basis of other information, that Community investment firms in a third country are not granted national treatment affording the same competitive opportunities as are available to domestic investment firms and that the conditions of effective market access are not fulfilled, the Commission may initiate negotiations in order to remedy the situation. In the circumstances described in the first subparagraph it may also be decided, at any time and in addition to the initiation of negotiations, in accordance with the procedure to be laid down in the Directive by which the Council will set up the committee referred to in paragraph 1, that the competent authorities of the Member States must limit or suspend their decisions regarding requests pending or future requests for authorization and the acquisition of holdings by direct or indirect parent undertakings governed by the law of the third country in question. The duration of such measures may not exceed three months. Before the end of that three-month period and in the light of the results of the negotiations the Council may, acting on a proposal from the Commission, decide by a qualified majority whether the measures shall be continued. Such limitations or suspensions may not be applied to the setting up of subsidiaries by investment firms duly authorized in the Community or by their subsidiaries, or to the acquisition of holdings in Community investment firms by such firms or subsidiaries.
6.Whenever it appears to the Commission that one of the situations described in paragraphs 4 and 5 obtains, the Member States shall inform it at its request: (a) of any application for the authorization of any firm which is the direct or indirect subsidiary of a parent undertaking governed by the law of the third country in question; (b) whenever they are informed in accordance with Article 10 that such a parent undertaking proposes to acquire a holding in a Community investment firm such that the latter would become its subsidiary. This obligation to provide information shall lapse whenever agreement is reached with the third country referred to in paragraph 4 or 5 or when the measures referred to in the second and third subparagraphs of paragraph 5 cease to apply.
7.Measures taken under this Article shall comply with the Community's obligations under any international agreements, bilateral or multilateral, governing the taking up or pursuit of the business of investment firms.