Article 2: Amendments to Directive 2004/109/EC

Directive 2004/109/EC is amended as follows:

(1)

in Article 2(1) the following point is added:

‘(r)

“sustainability reporting” means sustainability reporting as defined in point (18) of Article 2 of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (*23).

(2)

Article 4 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 2, point (c) is replaced by the following:

‘(c)

statements made by the persons responsible within the issuer, whose names and functions shall be clearly indicated, to the effect that, to the best of their knowledge, the financial statements prepared in accordance with the applicable set of accounting standards give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the issuer and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole and that the management report includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the issuer and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face and, where appropriate, that it is prepared in accordance with sustainability reporting standards referred to in Article 29b of Directive 2013/34/EU and with the specifications adopted pursuant to Article 8(4) of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*24).

(b)

paragraphs 4 and 5 are replaced by the following:

‘4. The financial statements shall be audited in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 34(1) and Article 34(2) of Directive 2013/34/EU.