Recital 4

(4)According 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 ³ (the IAS Regulation), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) should be incorporated into Community law to be applied by companies with securities listed on a regulated market in the Community, provided that the IFRS meet the criteria set out in that Regulation. IFRS therefore play a major role in the functioning of the internal market and thus the Community has a direct interest in ensuring that the process through which IFRS are developed and approved delivers standards that are consistent with the requirements of the legal framework of the internal market.