1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions needed in order to comply with this Directive within two years of its notification. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
2. Member States may decide not to apply Article 3(g), (i), (j) and (k) to companies already in existence at the date of entry into force of the provisions referred to in paragraph 1.
They may provide that the other provisions of this Directive shall not apply to such companies until 18 months after that date.
However, this time limit may be three years in the case of Articles 6 and 9 and five years in the case of unregistered companies in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
3. Member States shall ensure that they communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.