Article 1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision:

1. (1)

   ‘assessment report’ means written documentation containing: (a) a report drawn up by the relevant competent authorities assessing a CSD’s compliance with CSD access criterion 2; and (b) a CSD self-assessment of its compliance with CSD access criteria 1, 3, 4 and 5;

2. (2)

   ‘central bank (CB)’ means the European Central Bank, the national central banks (NCBs) of the Member States whose currency is the euro, the NCBs of the Member States whose currency is not the euro (hereinafter ‘non-euro area NCBs’), any European Economic Area (EEA) central bank or relevant competent authority (hereinafter ‘EEA central bank’) and any central bank or relevant competent authority of a country outside the EEA (hereinafter ‘other central bank’), where the currency of such a non-euro area NCB, EEA or other central bank is considered eligible in accordance with Article 18 of Guideline ECB/2010/2;

3. (3)

   ‘CSD access criterion 1’ means the criterion laid down in Article 15(1)(a) of Guideline ECB/2010/2, i.e. that CSDs are eligible for access to T2S services provided that they have been notified to the European Securities and Markets Authority pursuant to Article 10 of Directive 98/26/EC or, in the case of a CSD from a non-EEA country, they operate under a legal and regulatory framework that is equivalent to that in force in the Union;

4. (4)

   ‘F1CSD access criterion 2’ means the criterion laid down in Article 15(1)(b) of Guideline ECB/2012/13 ^f1 , i.e. that CSDs are eligible for access to T2S services provided that they have been positively assessed by the competent authorities against (i) Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ^f2 , for CSDs located in a European Economic Area (EEA) country, or (ii) the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures of the Committee on Payment and Market Infrastructures and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions ^f3 or a legal framework implementing those principles, for CSDs located in a non-EEA country;

5. (5)

   ‘CSD access criterion 3’ means the criterion laid down in Article 15(1)(c) of Guideline ECB/2010/2, i.e. that CSDs are eligible for access to T2S services provided that they make each security/International Securities Identification Number for which they are an issuer CSD, or technical issuer CSD, available to other CSDs in T2S upon request;

6. (6)

   ‘CSD access criterion 4’ means the criterion laid down in Article 15(1)(d) of Guideline ECB/2010/2, i.e. that CSDs are eligible for access to T2S services provided that they commit to offer to other CSDs in T2S basic custody service on a non-discriminatory basis;

7. (7)

   ‘CSD access criterion 5’ means the criterion laid down in Article 15(1)(e) of Guideline ECB/2010/2, i.e. that CSDs are eligible for access to T2S services provided that they commit towards other CSDs in T2S to carry out their central bank money settlement in T2S if the currency is available in T2S;

8. (8)

   ‘relevant competent authorities’ means the CBs and the regulators with oversight and/or supervisory competence over a specific CSD and responsible for assessing CSDs against applicable recognised standards;

9. (9)

   ‘directly connected party’ means a T2S Party with a technical facility allowing it to access T2S and use its securities settlement services without the need for a CSD to act as a technical interface;

10. (10)

    ‘T2S Party’ means a legal entity or, in some markets, an individual, that has a contractual relationship with a CSD in T2S for the processing of its settlement-related activities in T2S, and does not necessarily hold a securities account with the CSD;

11. (11)

    ‘Market Infrastructure Board’ or ‘MIB’ means the Eurosystem governance body established pursuant to Decision (EU) 2019/166 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2019/3) ^f4 ;

12. (12)

    ‘ Advisory Group on Market Infrastructures for Securities and Collateral ’ or ‘ AMI SeCo ’ has the same meaning as in point (25) of Article 2 of Guideline ECB/2012/13;

13. (13)

    ‘Currency Participation Agreement (CPA)’ means an agreement to be entered into by the Eurosystem and a non-euro area NCB, or an authority responsible for a currency other than the euro, for the purpose of settling securities transaction in central bank money in currencies other than the euro.