The criteria to be taken into account in order to assess whether the solvency regime of a third country that applies to reinsurance activities of undertakings with their head office in that third country is equivalent to that laid down in Title I of Directive 2009/138/EC shall be the following:

(a) whether the supervisory authorities of that third country have the power, by law or regulation, to effectively supervise domestic insurance undertakings carrying out reinsurance activities or reinsurance undertakings and impose sanctions or take enforcement action where necessary;

(b) whether the supervisory authorities of that third country have the necessary means, the relevant expertise, capacities including financial and human resources, and mandate to effectively protect policy holders and beneficiaries regardless of their nationality or place of residence;

(c) whether the supervisory authorities of that third country, in the exercise of their general duties, duly consider the potential impact of their decisions on the stability of financial systems globally, particularly during emergency situations, on the basis of the information available at that time;

(d) whether the supervisory authorities of that third country take into account the potential pro-cyclical effects of their actions where exceptional movements in the financial markets occur;

(e) whether the taking-up of the business of reinsurance in that third country is subject to prior authorisation conditional on a clear, objective and publicly available set of written standards;