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1. This Regulation establishes a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) (hereinafter the Authority’).

2. The Authority shall act within the powers conferred by this Regulation and within the scope of Directives 97/9/EC, 98/26/EC, 2001/34/EC, 2002/47/EC, 2004/109/EC, 2009/65/EC, Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (), Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 and Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (), Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (), Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council (), Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council () and to the extent that those acts apply to firms providing investment services or to collective investment undertakings marketing their units or shares, issuers or offerors of crypto-assets, persons seeking admission to trading or crypto-asset service providers and the competent authorities that supervise them, within the relevant parts of, Directives 2002/87/EC and 2002/65/EC, including all directives, regulations, and decisions based on those acts, and of any further legally binding Union act which confers tasks on the Authority. ◄ —————

3. The Authority shall act in the field of activities of financial market participants in relation to issues not directly covered by the legislative acts referred to in paragraph 2, including matters of corporate governance, auditing and financial reporting, taking into account sustainable business models and the integration of environmental, social and governance related factors, provided that such actions are necessary to ensure the effective and consistent application of those acts. The Authority shall also take appropriate action in the context of take-over bids, clearing and settlement and derivative issues.

3a. This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to other Union acts conferring the functions of authorisation or supervision and corresponding powers upon the Authority.

4. The provisions of this Regulation are without prejudice to the powers of the Commission, in particular under Article 258 TFEU, to ensure compliance with Union law.

5. The objective of the Authority shall be to protect the public interest by contributing to the short-, medium- and long-term stability and effectiveness of the financial system, for the Union economy, its citizens and businesses. The Authority shall, within its respective competences, contribute to:

(a) improving the functioning of the internal market, including in particular a sound, effective and consistent level of regulation and supervision, (b) ensuring the integrity, transparency, efficiency and orderly functioning of financial markets, (c) strengthening international supervisory coordination, (d) preventing regulatory arbitrage and promoting equal conditions of competition, (e) ensuring that the taking of investment and other risks are appropriately regulated and supervised, (f) enhancing customer and investor protection, (g) enhancing supervisory convergence across the internal market. For those purposes, the Authority shall contribute to ensuring the consistent, efficient and effective application of the acts referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, foster supervisory convergence, and provide opinions in accordance with Article 16a to the European Parliament, to the Council, and to the Commission. In the exercise of the tasks conferred upon it by this Regulation, the Authority shall pay particular attention to any systemic risk posed by financial market participants, the failure of which may impair the operation of the financial system or the real economy. When carrying out its tasks, the Authority shall act independently, objectively and in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner, in the interests of the Union as a whole, and shall respect, wherever relevant, the principle of proportionality. The Authority shall be accountable and act with integrity and shall ensure that all stakeholders are treated fairly. The content and form of the Authority’s actions and measures, in particular guidelines, recommendations, opinions, questions and answers, draft regulatory standards and draft implementing standards, shall fully respect the applicable provisions of this Regulation and of the legislative acts referred to in paragraph 2. To the extent permitted and relevant under those provisions, the Authority’s actions and measures shall, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, take due account of the nature, scale and complexity of the risks inherent in the business of a financial market participant, undertaking, other subject or financial activity, that is affected by the Authority’s actions and measures.

6. The Authority shall establish, as an integral part thereof, a Committee advising it as to how, in full compliance with applicable rules, its actions and measures should take account of specific differences prevailing in the sector, pertaining to the nature, scale and complexity of risks, to business models and practice as well as to the size of financial institutions and of markets to the extent that such factors are relevant under the rules considered.