Article 15
General principles governing resolution
1.
When acting under the resolution procedure referred to in Article 18, the Board, the Council, the Commission and, where relevant, the national resolution authorities, shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the resolution action is taken in accordance with the following principles:
(a)
the shareholders of the institution under resolution bear first losses;
(b)
creditors of the institution under resolution bear losses after the shareholders in accordance with the order of priority of their claims pursuant to Article 17, save as expressly provided otherwise in this Regulation;
(c)
the management body and senior management of the institution under resolution are replaced, except in those cases where the retention of the management body and senior management, in whole or in part, as appropriate to the circumstances, is considered to be necessary for the achievement of the resolution objectives;
(d)
the management body and senior management of the institution under resolution shall provide all necessary assistance for the achievement of the resolution objectives;
(e)
natural and legal persons are made liable, subject to national law, under civil or criminal law, for their responsibility for the failure of the institution under resolution;
(f)
except where otherwise provided in this Regulation, creditors of the same class are treated in an equitable manner;
(g)
no creditor shall incur greater losses than would have been incurred if an entity referred to in Article 2 had been wound up under normal insolvency proceedings in accordance with the safeguards provided for in Article 29;
(h)
covered deposits are fully protected; and
(i)
resolution action is taken in accordance with the safeguards in this Regulation.
2.
Where an institution is a group entity, without prejudice to Article 14, the Board, the Council and the Commission, when deciding on the application of resolution tools and the exercise of resolution powers, shall act in a way that minimises the impact on other group entities and on the group as a whole and minimises the adverse effect on financial stability in the Union and its Member States, in particular in the countries where the group operates.
3.
Where the sale of business tool, the bridge institution tool or the asset separation tool is applied to an entity referred to in Article 2 of this Regulation, that entity shall be considered to be the subject of bankruptcy proceedings or analogous insolvency proceedings for the purposes of Article 5(1) of Council Directive 2001/23/EC (
7
).
4.
When deciding on the application of resolution tools and the exercise of resolution powers, the Board shall instruct national resolution authorities to inform and consult employee representatives where appropriate.
This is without prejudice to provisions on the representation of employees in management bodies as provided for by national law or practice.
( 7 ) Council Directive 2001/23/EC of 12 March 2001 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of undertakings or businesses (OJ L 82, 22.3.2001, p. 16).