Without prejudice to paragraphs 3 and 7, no undertaking may be authorised both pursuant to this Directive and pursuant to Directive 73/239/EEC.

By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may provide that:

• undertakings authorised pursuant to this Directive may also obtain authorisation, in accordance with Article 6 of Directive 73/239/EEC for the risks listed in classes 1 and 2 in the Annex to that Directive,

• undertakings authorised pursuant to Article 6 of Directive 73/239/EEC solely for the risks listed in classes 1 and 2 in the Annex to that Directive may obtain authorisation pursuant to this Directive.

Subject to paragraph 6, undertakings referred to in paragraph 2 and those which on:

• 1 January 1981 for undertakings authorised in Greece,

• 1 January 1986 for undertakings authorised in Spain and Portugal,

• F11 January 1995 for undertakings authorised in Austria, Finland and Sweden,

• F21 May 2004 for undertakings authorised in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia,

• F31 January 2007 for undertakings authorised in Bulgaria and Romania, and

• 15 March 1979 for all other undertakings,

carried on simultaneously both the activities covered by this Directive and those covered by Directive 73/239/EEC may continue to carry on those activities simultaneously, provided that each activity is separately managed in accordance with Article 19 of this Directive.

Member States may provide that the undertakings referred to in paragraph 2 shall comply with the accounting rules governing assurance undertakings authorised pursuant to this Directive for all of their activities. Pending coordination in this respect, Member States may also provide that, with regard to rules on winding-up, activities relating to the risks listed in classes 1 and 2 in the Annex to Directive 73/239/EEC carried on by the undertakings referred to in paragraph 2 shall be governed by the rules applicable to life assurance activities.

Where an undertaking carrying on the activities referred to in the Annex to Directive 73/239/EEC has financial, commercial or administrative links with an assurance undertaking carrying on the activities covered by this Directive, the competent authorities of the Member States within whose territories the head offices of those undertakings are situated shall ensure that the accounts of the undertakings in question are not distorted by agreements between these undertakings or by any arrangement which could affect the apportionment of expenses and income.

Any Member State may require assurance undertakings whose head offices are situated in its territory to cease, within a period to be determined by the Member State concerned, the simultaneous pursuit of activities in which they were engaged on the dates referred to in paragraph 3.

The provisions of this Article shall be reviewed on the basis of a report from the Commission to the Council in the light of future harmonisation of the rules on winding-up, and in any case before 31 December 1999.