24.12.2003 Official Journal of the European Union L 339/73 COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2003/125/EC of 22 December 2003 implementing Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the fair presentation of investment recommendations and the disclosure of conflicts of interest (Text with EEA relevance) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, Having regard to Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parlia- ment and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on insider dealing and market manipulation (market abuse) (), and in particular the sixth indent of Article 6(10) thereof, After consulting the Committee of European Securities Regula- tors (CESR) () for technical advice, Whereas: (1)  Harmonised standards are necessary for the fair, clear and accurate presentation of information and disclosure of interests and conflicts of interest, to be complied with by persons producing or disseminating information recommending or suggesting an investment strategy, intended for distribution channels or for the public. In particular, market integrity requires high standards of fairness, probity and transparency when information recommending or suggesting an investment strategy is presented. (2)  Recommending or suggesting an investment strategy is either done explicitly (such as ‘buy’, ‘hold’ or ‘sell’ recom- mendations) or implicitly (by reference to a price target or otherwise). (3)  Investment advice, through the provision of a personal recommendation to a client in respect of one or more transactions relating to financial instruments (in particu- lar informal short-term investment recommendations originating from inside the sales or trading departments of an investment firm or a credit institution expressed to their clients), which are not likely to become publicly available, should not be considered in themselves as recommendations within the meaning of this Directive. (4)  Investment recommendations that constitute a possible basis for investment decisions should be produced and disseminated in accordance with high standards of care in order to avoid misleading market participants. (5)  The identity of the producer of investment recommenda- tions, his conduct of business rules and the identity of his competent authority should be disclosed, since it may be a valuable piece of information for investors to consider in relation to their investment decisions. @ OJ L 96, 12.4.2003,5. 16. (*) CESR was established by Commission Decision 2001/527/EC (O] L 191,13.7.2001, p. 43). (6)  Recommendations should be presented clearly and accu- rately. (7) Own interests or conflicts of interest of persons recom- mending or suggesting investment strategy may influ- ence the opinion that they express in investment recom- mendations. In order to ensure that the objectivity and reliability of the information can be evaluated, appro- priate disclosure should be made of significant financial interests in any financial instrument which is the subject of the information recommending investment strategies, or of any conlflicts of interest or control relationship with respect to the issuer to whom the information relates, directly or indirectly. However, this Directive should not require relevant persons producing invest- ment recommendations to breach effective information barriers put in place in order to prevent and avoid conflicts of interest. (8)  Investment recommendations may be disseminated in unaltered, altered or summarised form by a person other than the producer. The way in which disseminators handle such recommendations may have an important impact on the evaluation of those recommendations by investors. In particular, the knowledge of the identity of the disseminator of investment recommendations, his conduct of business rules or the extent of alteration of the original recommendation can be a valuable piece of information for investors when considering their invest- ment decisions. 9) Posting of investment recommendations on internet sites should be in accordance with the rules on transfer of personal data to third countries as laid down in Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the movement of such data (). (10)  Credit rating agencies issue opinions on the credit- worthiness of a particular issuer or financial instrument as of a given date. As such, these opinions do not consti- tute a recommendation within the meaning of this Directive. However, credit rating agencies should consider adopting internal policies and procedures designed to ensure that credit ratings published by them are fairly presented and that they appropriately disclose any significant interests or conflicts of interest concerning the financial instruments or the issuers to which their credit ratings relate. () OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.