1. Small groups shall be exempted from the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report, except where any affiliated undertaking is a public-interest entity.

2. Member States may exempt medium-sized groups from the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report, except where any affiliated undertaking is a public-interest entity.

3. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, a Member State shall, in the following cases, exempt from the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report any parent undertaking (the exempted undertaking) governed by its national law which is also a subsidiary undertaking, including a public-interest entity unless that public-interest entity falls under point (1)(a) of Article 2, the own parent undertaking of which is governed by the law of a Member State and:

(a) the parent undertaking of the exempted undertaking holds all of the shares in the exempted undertaking. The shares in the exempted undertaking held by members of its administrative, management or supervisory bodies pursuant to a legal obligation or an obligation in its memorandum or articles of association shall be ignored for this purpose; or