Article 3

1. For the purposes of applying this Directive:
   1. the status of parent company shall be attributed:
      1. at least to a company of a Member State which fulfils the conditions set out in Article 2 and has a minimum holding of 10 % in the capital of a company of another Member State fulfilling the same conditions;
      2. under the same conditions, to a company of a Member State which has a minimum holding of 10 % in the capital of a company of the same Member State, held in whole or in part by a permanent establishment of the former company situated in another Member State;
   2. subsidiary means that company the capital of which includes the holding referred to in point (a).
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States shall have the option of:
   1. replacing, by means of bilateral agreement, the criterion of a holding in the capital by that of a holding of voting rights;
   2. not applying this Directive to companies of that Member State, which do not maintain for an uninterrupted period of at least 2 years holdings qualifying them as parent companies, or to those of their companies in which a company of another Member State does not maintain such a holding for an uninterrupted period of at least 2 years.