Recital 1

(1)Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards ² requires companies governed by the law of a Member State, whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market of any Member State, to prepare their consolidated accounts in accordance with adopted international accounting standards, now commonly referred to as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), for each financial year starting on or after 1 January 2005.