Crime Against Humanity: the Holy GAAP, 9

“Article 1, Aim: This Regulation has as its objective the adoption and use of international accounting standards in the Community […]” Just in case it wasn't clear what it's all about.
“Article 2, Definitions: For the purpose of this Regulation, ‘international accounting standards’ shall mean International Accounting Standards (IAS), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and related Interpretations (SIC−IFRIC interpretations), subsequent amendments to those standards and related interpretations, future standards and related interpretations issued or adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).” Just in case it wasn’t clear how much we want the IAS/IFRS and nothing else, we hereby grant legal force even to those they will contrive in the future, sight unseen.
“Article 4, Consolidated accounts of publicly traded companies: […] companies governed by the law of a Member State shall prepare their consolidated accounts in conformity with the international accounting standards […] if, at their balance sheet date, their securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market of any Member State […]” The terms “consolidated accounts” and “annual accounts” in this and the next article are synonims of “consolidated financial statement” and “financial statement”; a financial statement, wether consolidated or not, is always that document periodically stating the business accounts, while in the field of finance to consolidate means to group together, hence the difference is simply that a consolidated financial statement is that compiled by a parent company in which it adds to its business accounts those of its subsidiaries.
“Article 5, Options in respect of annual accounts and of non publicly−traded companies: Member States may permit or require: (a) the companies referred to in Article 4 to prepare their annual accounts, (b) companies other than those referred to in Article 4 to prepare their consolidated accounts and/or their annual accounts, in conformity with the international accounting standards adopted […]” In other words, the previous article prescribes that consolidated financial statements of listed parent companies must conform to the IAS/IFRS, while this article prescribes that Member States may require it in all the other cases: non−consolidated financial statements of listed parent companies, consolidated financial statements of non−listed parent companies, financial statementes of non−parent companies.