L 178/16 Official Journal of the European Union 17.7.2003 DIRECTIVE 2003/51/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 18 June 2003 amending Directives 78/660/EEC, 83/349/EEC, 86/635/EEC and 91/674/EEC on the annual and consolidated accounts of certain types of companies, banks and other financial institutions and insurance undertakings (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, and in particular Article 44(1) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (!), Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (), Whereas: (1) The Lisbon European Council of 23-24 March 2000 emphasised the need to accelerate completion of the internal market for financial services, set the deadline of 2005 for implementation of the Commission's Financial Services Action Plan and urged that steps be taken to enhance the comparability of financial statements prepared by Community companies whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market (hereinafter: listed companies). (2  On 13 June 2000, the Commission published its Communication entitled ‘EU  Financial ~Reporting Strategy: The Way Forward’ in which it was proposed that all listed companies prepare their consolidated accounts in accordance with one single set of accounting standards, namely International Accounting Standards (IAS), at the latest by 2005. (3)  Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parlia- ment and of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the applica- tion of international accounting standards () (hereinafter: the IAS Regulation) introduced the requirement that, from 2005 onwards, all listed companies prepare their consolidated accounts in accordance with IAS adopted for application within the Community. It also provided an option for Member States to permit or require the application of adopted IAS in the preparation of annual accounts and to permit or require the application of adopted IAS by unlisted companies. () O] C 227 E, 24.9.2002, p. 336. () O] C 85, 8.4.2003, p. 140. (*) Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 January 2003 (not yet published in the Official Journal), and Council Decision of 6 May 2003. () OJ L 243, 11.9.2002, p. 1. (4)  The IAS Regulation provides that, to adopt an interna- tional accounting standard for its application in the Community, it is necessary that it meets the basic requirement of the Fourth Council Directive 78/660/EEC of 25 July 1978 on the annual accounts of certain types of companies () and of the Seventh Council Directive 83[349/EEC of 13 June 1983 on consolidated accounts (%), that is to say that its application results in a true and fair view of the financial position and perfor- mance of an enterprise — this principle being consid- ered in the light of the said Directives without implying a strict conformity with each and every provision of those Directives. (5)  As the annual and consolidated accounts of undertakings covered by Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC which are not prepared in accordance with the IAS Regulation will continue to have those Directives as the primary source of their Community accounting require- ments, it is important that a level playing field exists between Community companies which apply IAS and those which do not. (6)  For the purposes both of the adoption of IAS and the application of Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC, it is desirable that those Directives reflect developments in international accounting. In this respect, the Communi- cation of the Commission entitled ‘Accounting Harmoni- sation: A New Strategy vis-a-vis International Harmoni- sation’ called for the European Union to work to main- tain consistency between Community Accounting Direc- tives and developments in international accounting stan- dard setting, in particular within the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). (7)  Member States should be able to modify the presentation of the profit and loss account and balance sheet in accordance  with international —developments, as expressed through standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). (8)  Member States should be able to permit or require the application of revaluations and of fair value in accor- dance with international developments, as expressed through standards issued by the IASB. () OJ L 222, 14.8.1978, p. 11. Directive as last amended by Directive 2001/65[EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (O] L 283, 27.10.2001, p. 28). () OJ L 193, 18.7.1983, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2001/65/EC.