THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading and amending Directive 2001/34/EC [OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 64.], and in particular Article 7(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards [OJ L 243, 11.9.2002, p. 1.] requires companies governed by the law of a Member State, whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market of any Member State, to prepare their consolidated accounts in accordance with adopted international accounting standards, now commonly referred to as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), for each financial year starting on or after 1 January 2005.