Preamble

AGREEMENT

between the European Parliament and the Single Resolution Board on the practical modalities of the exercise of democratic accountability and oversight over the exercise of the tasks conferred on the Single Resolution Board within the framework of the Single Resolution Mechanism

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE SINGLE RESOLUTION BOARD,

— having regard to the Treaty on European Union,

— having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Article 114 thereof,

— having regard to Parliament's Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2014 establishing uniform rules and a uniform procedure for the resolution of credit institutions and certain investment firms in the framework of a Single Resolution Mechanism and a Single Resolution Fund and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 ¹, in particular Article 45(7) and (8) thereof,

A. whereas Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 (the SRM Regulation) establishes the Single Resolution Board (the Board) as a Union agency entrusted with a centralised power of resolution for the participating Member States in the Single Resolution Mechanism (the SRM) that are also participating in the Single Supervisory Mechanism (the SSM), with a view to contributing to the safety and soundness of credit institutions and the stability of the financial system within the European Union and each participating Member State;

B. whereas Article 7 of the SRM Regulation establishes that the Board is the resolution authority responsible for carrying out the tasks conferred on it by that Regulation (the resolution tasks), in particular for drawing up the resolution plans and adopting all decisions relating to resolution;

C. whereas the conferral of resolution tasks implies a significant responsibility for the Board to contribute to financial stability in the Union, using its resolution powers in the most effective and proportionate way;

D. whereas any conferral of resolution powers to the Union level should be balanced by appropriate accountability requirements; whereas under Article 45 of the SRM Regulation the Board is therefore accountable for the implementation of that Regulation to Parliament and the Council as democratically legitimised institutions representing the citizens of the Union and the Member States;

E. whereas Article 45(8) of the SRM Regulation provides that the Board is to cooperate with any investigations by Parliament, subject to the TFEU;

F. whereas Article 45(7) of the SRM Regulation provides that, upon request, the Chair of the Board is to hold confidential oral discussions behind closed doors with the Chair and the Vice-Chairs of Parliament's competent committee where such discussions are required for the exercise of Parliament's powers under the TFEU; whereas that Article requires that the arrangements for the organisation of those discussions ensure full confidentiality in accordance with the confidentiality obligations imposed on the Board by the SRM Regulation and when the Board is acting as a national resolution authority under the relevant Union law;

G. whereas Article 15(1) TFEU provides that the Union's agencies conduct their work as openly as possible; whereas the conditions under which a document of the Board is confidential should, as provided for in Article 91 of the SRM Regulation, be laid down in the decision of the Board applying the security principles contained in the Commission's security rules for protecting European Union Classified Information (EUCI) and sensitive non-classified information;

H. whereas Parliament and the Board should cooperate closely to ensure the implementation of those security rules, including by periodic joint monitoring of security arrangements and standards applied;

I. whereas the disclosure of information related to the resolution of entities is not at the free disposal of the Board but subject to limits and conditions as established by relevant Union law to which both Parliament and the Board are subject; whereas the disclosure of Board information might therefore be restricted by legally foreseen confidentiality limits;

J. whereas this Agreement is without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council ², to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council ³ and to any other applicable primary or secondary Union law provision on the access to documents or the protection of personal data, as well as to the rules on Parliament's right of inquiry adopted in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 226 TFEU;

K. whereas Article 88(1) of the SRM Regulation provides that the members of the Board, the Vice-Chair, the members of the Board referred to in Article 43(1)(b) of that Regulation, the staff of the Board and staff exchanged with or seconded by participating Member States carrying out resolution duties should be subject to the professional secrecy requirements pursuant to Article 339 TFEU and the relevant provisions in Union law;

L. whereas Article 5(2) of the SRM Regulation provides that the Board is to take decisions subject to and in compliance with relevant Union law, and in particular any legislative and non-legislative acts, including those referred to in Articles 290 and 291 TFEU;

M. whereas subject to future amendments or any future relevant legal acts, the provisions of Union law relevant in respect of the treatment of information which has been found to be confidential, in particular Article 84 of Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁴, impose strict obligations of professional secrecy on resolution authorities and their staff;

N. whereas the breach of professional secrecy requirements in relation to resolution information should lead to adequate sanctions; whereas Parliament should provide for an adequate framework to follow-up on any case of breach of confidentiality by its Members or staff;

O. whereas in accordance with Article 43 of the SRM Regulation, the Board is composed of, inter alia, a member appointed by each participating Member State, representing their national resolution authorities; whereas the latter, in accordance with Article 3(3) of Directive 2014/59/EU, may exceptionally be the competent authorities for supervision for the purposes of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁵ and Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁶; whereas adequate structural arrangements should be in place to ensure operational independence and avoid conflicts of interest between the functions of supervision pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and Directive 2013/36/EU or the other functions of the relevant authority and the functions of resolution authorities pursuant to this Directive; whereas such structural arrangements should be reflected in the Board's Code of Conduct applicable to its members;

P. whereas this Agreement is without prejudice to the accountability of national resolution authorities to national parliaments in accordance with national law;

Q. whereas this Agreement does not cover or affect the accountability and reporting obligation of the Board towards the Council, the Commission or national parliaments;

R. whereas Article 45(2) of the SRM Regulation provides that the Board should submit an annual report to, inter alia, Parliament, on the performance of the tasks conferred on the Board by that Regulation; whereas that report should in particular cover Board activities as regards resolution planning, assessments of resolvability, determinations of minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities, resolution actions, and the exercise of other duties and powers under the SRM Regulation; whereas that report should also cover detailed information regarding the Single Resolution Fund (the Fund), in particular the evolution of the available financial means of the Fund and any decisions concerning the period for reaching the target level and the calculation of contributions in accordance with Articles 69 to 71 of the SRM Regulation; borrowing, lending and other financial arrangements in accordance with Articles 72 to 74 of the SRM Regulation; the administration and investment strategy of the Fund, in accordance with Article 75 of the SRM Regulation and the applicable Commission delegated acts; the specific conditions of use of the Fund for an individual resolution scheme in accordance with Articles 76 to 78 of the SRM Regulation; the application of the principles of division into national compartments and of progressive merger during the transitional period provided for in Article 3(1)(37) of the SRM Regulation, in accordance with Article 77 of the SRM Regulation, and the use of deposit guarantee schemes in accordance with Article 79 of the SRM Regulation;

S. whereas in line with the accountability principle enshrined in Article 45 of the SRM Regulation, Parliament should have ex post access to non-confidential information relating to a resolved entity, including a level of balance sheet detail, provided separately for each of the entities impacted by resolution, that is sufficient to show the size and nature of the impact,

AGREE AS FOLLOWS: