competent authoritiesmeans the authorities designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 30 of this Regulation;
financial instrumentmeans any of the instruments listed in Section C of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU;
group of ESG rating providersmeans a group of undertakings established in the Union consisting of a parent undertaking and its subsidiary undertakings within the meaning of Article 2 of Directive 2013/34/EU, and undertakings linked to each other by a relationship, whose activities include the provision of ESG ratings.
management bodymeans an ESG rating provider’s body or bodies, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the ESG rating provider’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the ESG rating provider, and which include the persons who effectively direct the business of the ESG rating provider;
rated itemmeans a legal person, a financial instrument, a financial product, a public authority or a body governed by public law which is explicitly or implicitly rated in the ESG rating, irrespective of whether such rating has been requested and irrespective of whether the legal person, public authority or body governed by public law has provided information for that ESG rating;
rating analystmeans a person who performs analytical functions for the purpose of issuing ESG ratings;
regulated financial undertaking in the Unionmeans an undertaking, regardless of its legal form, that is:
senior managementmeans the person or persons who effectively direct the business of the ESG rating provider and the member or members of the ESG rating provider’s administrative or supervisory board;
user of ESG ratingsmeans a natural or legal person, a public authority, an agency or other body governed by public law, to which an ESG rating is distributed by subscription or other contractual relationships;