6.11.2013 Official Journal of the European Union L 29413 DIRECTIVE 2013/50/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 22 October 2013 amending Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market, Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading and Commission Directive 2007/14/EC laying down detailed rules for the implementation of certain provisions of Directive 2004/109/EC (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 50 and 114 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank (?), Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (2), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (%), Whereas: (1) Under Article 33 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (), the Commission had to report on the operation of that Directive to the European Parliament and to the Council, including on the appropriateness of ending the exemption for existing debt securities after the 10-year period as provided for by Article 30(4) of that Directive, and on the potential impact of the operation of that Directive on the European financial markets. (2)  On 27 May 2010 the Commission adopted a report on the operation of Directive 2004/109/EC which identified areas where the regime created by that Directive could be improved. In particular, the report demonstrates the need () OJ C 93, 30.3.2012, p. 2. (3) OJ C 143, 22.5.2012, p. 78. (°) Position of the European Parliament of 12 June 2013 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 17 October 2013. () OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38. to provide for the simplification of certain issuers’ obligations with a view to making regulated markets more attractive to small and medium-sized issuers raising capital in the Union. Furthermore, the effec- tiveness of the existing transparency regime needs to be improved, in particular with respect to the disclosure of corporate ownership. In addition, in its communication of 13 April 2011 entitled ‘Single Market Act, Twelve levers to boost growth and strengthen confidence, Working together to create new growth’, the Commission identified the need to review Directive 2004/109/EC in order to make the obligations applicable to listed small and medium-sized enterprises more proportionate, whilst guaranteeing the same level of investor protection. According to the Commission report and the Commission communication, the administrative burden associated with obligations linked to admission to trading on a regulated market should be reduced for small and medium-sized issuers in order to improve their access to capital. The obligations to publish interim management statements or quarterly financial reports represent an important burden for many small and medium-sized issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on regulated markets, without being necessary for investor protection. Those obligations also encourage short-term performance and discourage long-term investment. In order to encourage sustainable value creation and long- term oriented investment strategy, it is essential to reduce short-term pressure on issuers and give investors an incentive to adopt a longer term vision. The requirement to publish interim management statements should therefore be abolished. Member States should not be allowed to impose in their national legislation the requirement to publish periodic financial information on a more frequent basis than annual financial reports and half-yearly financial reports. However, Member States should nevertheless be able to require issuers to publish additional periodic financial information if such a requirement does not constitute a significant financial burden, and if the additional information required is proportionate to the factors that contribute to investment decisions.