E-24/24 EFTA Surveillance Authority v the Kingdom of Norway
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Deadlines: Motivation ministry: 18 December 2024 Written observations: 3 February 2025
Keywords: supervision, credit institutions, insurance undertakings, implementation
Subject: - Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms: Articles 22(8), 23(1) and (2); - Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance: Articles 58(7), 59(1) and (2).
Facts of the case: The EFTA Surveillance Authority (hereafter: ESA) seeks the declaration of the EFTA Court that Norway has incorrectly implemented and applied two directives incorporated into the EEA Agreement. The two directives, Directive 2013/26 (CRD) and Directive 2009/138 (Solvency II), regulate access to the activity and the ‘prudential supervision’ of credit institutions and insurance undertakings. The objective of the prudential requirements is to ensure the sound and prudent management of the credit institution or insurance undertaking in which an acquisition is proposed.
ESA submits that the procedures for the prudential assessment by the competent authorities are fully harmonized by the two directives. ESA states that Norway has breached its obligations of implementation, because they allow competent authorities to take into consideration other assessment criteria than those exhaustively listed in the two directives. Furthermore, Norway has maintained an administrative practice which requires the approval of the national authority whenever a person acquires 25% or more of voting rights or capital in credit institutions and insurance undertakings and which, only with limited exceptions, results in the rejection of an application with no consideration of its merits. Norway disputes the arguments made by ESA, and offers an in-depth analysis of the contested administrative practice in the submitted defence. Norway requests the EFTA Court to dismiss ESA’s application.
ESA requests to: 1. Declare that, by maintaining in force Section 6-3(2), in particular its first sentence and provisions (c) and (d) thereof, of the Act of 10 April 2015 No 17 on financial institutions and financial groups, Norway has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 22(8), 23(1) and (2) of Directive 2013/36/EU on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms, as amended by Directive 2019/878, and Articles 58(7), 59(1) and (2) of Directive 2009/138/EC on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II);
2. Declare that, by maintaining in force an administrative practice which requires the approval of national authorities for the acquisition of 25% or more of voting rights or capital in credit institutions and insurance undertakings and which, save in the case of limited exceptions, results in the rejection of an application for such approval with no consideration of its merits, Norway has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 22 and 23 of Directive 2013/36/EU, as amended by Directive 2019/878, and Articles 57 to 59 of Directive 2009/138/EC.
Cited (recent) case-law: -
Policy Area: FIN
