24.12.77 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 334/13 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2830/77 of 12 December 1977 on the measures necessary to achieve comparability between the accounting systems and annual accounts of railway undertakings THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 75 thereof, Having regard to Council Decision 75/327/EEC of 20 May 1975 on the improvement of the situation of rail- way undertakings and the harmonization of rules gov- erning financial relations between such undertakings and States (1), and in particular Article 8 (2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia- ment (2), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3), Whereas the harmonization of rules concerning finan- cial relations between States and railway undertakings should be based as far as possible on the financial and accounting principles applicable to industrial and commercial undertakings; whereas this harmonization requires the implementation of the necessary measures to achieve comparability between the annual accounts of railway undertakings; Whereas comparability of the annual accounts of rail- way undertakings should contribute towards improving the transparency of the financial results of such under- takings and of the financial interventions of the State; Whereas comparability of these annual accounts may be established by transposing the annual results of railway undertakings to a standard form; Whereas an advisory committee should be set up to assist the Commission in improving the comparability and the harmonization of the annual accounts of rail- way undertakings, (*) OJ No L 152, 12. 6. 1975, p. 3. (3) O] No C 163, 11. 7. 1977, p. 33. (3) O] No C 180, 28. 7. 1977, p. 34. HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 The aim of this Regulation is to make the annual ac- counts of railway undertakings comparable. For the purpose of this Regulation annual accounts shall mean the balance sheet and the profit and loss account drawn up in accordance with Articles 3 and 4. Article 2 This Regulation shall apply to the following railway undertakings: ~— Société nationale des chemins de fer belges (SNCB)/Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen (NMBS), — Danske Statsbaner (DSB), — Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB), — Société nationale des chemins de fer francais (SNCF), — Coras lompair Eireann (CIE), — Azienda autonoma delle ferrovie dello Stato (FS), — Société nationale des chemins de fer luxembourgeois (CFL), — Naamloze Vennootschap Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), — British Railways Board (BRB), — Northern Ireland Railways Company Ltd (NIR). Article 3 Railway undertakings shall, each year taking effect for the first time for the accounting year 1977, transpose their annual results, established in accordance with national regulations, to the forms of annual accounts shown in Annexes I and IIL Article 4 1. The balance sheet shall be transposed in accordance with Annex I on the basis of the elements of the nomenclature set out in Annex II.