CHAPTER IV

The competent authorities may conclude cooperation agreements on exchange of information with the competent authorities of third countries only if the information disclosed is subject, in the third countries concerned, to guarantees of professional secrecy which are at least equivalent to those set out in Articles 22 and 34. The competent authorities shall immediately communicate such agreements to the CEAOB and notify the Commission of them. Information shall only be exchanged under this Article where such exchange of information is necessary for the performance of the tasks of those competent authorities under this Regulation. Where such exchange of information involves the transfer of personal data to a third country, Member States shall comply with Directive 95/46/EC and the CEAOB shall comply with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001. The competent authorities shall cooperate with the competent authorities or other relevant bodies of third countries regarding the quality assurance reviews and investigations of statutory auditors and audit firms. Upon request by a competent authority, the CEAOB shall contribute to such cooperation and to the establishment of supervisory convergence with third countries. Where the cooperation or exchange of information relates to audit working papers or other documents held by statutory auditors or audit firms, Article 47 of Directive 2006/43/EC shall apply. The CEAOB shall prepare guidelines on the content of the cooperation agreements and exchange of information referred to in this Article. The competent authority of a Member State may disclose the confidential information received from competent authorities of third countries where a cooperation agreement so provides, only if it has obtained the express agreement of the competent authority which has transmitted the information and, where applicable, the information is disclosed only for the purposes for which that competent authority has given its agreement, or where such disclosure is required by Union or national law. The competent authority of a Member State shall require that confidential information communicated by it to a competent authority of a third country may be disclosed by that competent authority to third parties or authorities only with the prior express agreement of the competent authority which has transmitted the information, in accordance with its national law and provided that the information is disclosed only for the purposes for which that competent authority of the Member State has given its agreement, or where such disclosure is required by Union or national law or is necessary for legal proceedings in that third country. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 9 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 16 June 2014. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period. The delegation of power referred to in Article 9 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 9 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council. The Commission shall review and report on the operation and effectiveness of the system of cooperation between competent authorities within the framework of the CEAOB, referred to in Article 30, in particular as regards the performance of the CEAOB tasks defined in paragraph 7 of that Article. The review shall take into account international developments, particularly in relation to strengthening cooperation with the competent authorities of third countries and contributing to the improvement of cooperation mechanisms for the oversight of statutory auditors and audit firms of public-interest entities belonging to international audit networks. The Commission shall complete its review by 17 June 2019. The report shall be submitted to the European Parliament and to the Council, together with a legislative proposal, if appropriate. That report shall consider the progress made in the field of cooperation between competent authorities within the framework of the CEAOB from the beginning of the operation of that framework and propose further steps to enhance the effectiveness of the cooperation between Member States' competent authorities. By 17 June 2028 the Commission shall submit a report on the application of this Regulation to the European Parliament and to the Council. As from 17 June 2020, a public-interest entity shall not enter into or renew an audit engagement with a given statutory auditor or audit firm if that statutory auditor or audit firm has been providing audit services to that public-interest entity for 20 and more consecutive years at the date of entry into force of this Regulation. As from 17 June 2023, a public-interest entity shall not enter into or renew an audit engagement with a given statutory auditor or audit firm if that statutory auditor or audit firm has been providing audit services to that public-interest entity for 11 and more but less than 20 consecutive years at the date of entry into force of this Regulation. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 and 2, the audit engagements that were entered into before 16 June 2014 but which are still in place as at 17 June 2016 may remain applicable until the end of the maximum duration referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 17(1) or in point (b) of Article 17(2). Article 17(4) shall apply. Article 16(3) shall only apply to audit engagements after the expiry of the period referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 17(1). The Member States shall adopt appropriate provisions to ensure the effective application of this Regulation. Commission Decision 2005/909/EC is hereby repealed. This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 17 June 2016. However, Article 16(6) shall apply from 17 June 2017.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-12 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.