1618. (1) A statutory auditor or statutory audit firm carrying out the assurance of sustainability reporting of a public-interest entity, or any member of the network to which the relevant sustainability assurance provider belongs, shall not directly or indirectly provide to the public-interest entity that is the subject of the assurance of sustainability reporting, to its holding undertaking or to its controlled undertakings within the European Union, the prohibited non-audit services referred to in points (b) and (c) and points (e) to (k) of the second subparagraph of Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 during –

(a) the period between the beginning of the period subject to the assurance of sustainability reporting and the issuing of the assurance report, and

(b) the financial year immediately preceding the period referred to in paragraph (a) in relation to the services referred to in point (e) of the second subparagraph of Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014.

(2) A statutory auditor or statutory audit firm carrying out the assurance of sustainability reporting of a public-interest entity and, where the statutory auditor or statutory audit firm belongs to a network, any member of such network, may provide to the public-interest entity that is the subject of the assurance of sustainability reporting, to its holding undertaking or to its controlled undertakings, non-audit services other than the prohibited non-audit services referred to in subsection (1) or, if applicable, the prohibited non-audit services referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 or services considered by Member States to represent a threat to independence as referred to in Article 5(2) of that Regulation, subject to the approval of the audit committee after it has properly assessed threats to independence and the safeguards applied in accordance with sections 1538 and 1539.

(3) When a member of a network to which the statutory auditor or statutory audit firm belongs provides the prohibited non-audit services referred to in subsection (1) to an undertaking incorporated in a third country which is controlled by the public-interest entity that is the subject of the assurance of sustainability reporting, the statutory auditor or audit firm concerned shall assess whether his, her or its independence would be compromised by such provision of services by the member of the network.

(4) If his, her or its independence is affected, the statutory auditor or audit firm –

(a) shall apply safeguards in order to mitigate the threats caused by the provision of prohibited non-audit services referred to in subsection (1) in a third country, and

(b) may continue to carry out the assurance of sustainability reporting of the public-interest entity only if he, she or it can justify, in accordance with sections 1538 and 1539, that the provision of such services does not affect his, her or its professional judgement and the assurance report on sustainability reporting.]