The Authority should serve as an independent advisory body to the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission in the area of its competence. Without prejudice to the competencies of the competent authorities concerned, the Authority should be able to provide its opinion on the prudential assessment of mergers and acquisitions under Directive 2006/48/EC (opens EUR-Lex in a new tab), as amended by Directive 2007/44/EC (opens EUR-Lex in a new tab) ⁽²⁷⁾ in those cases in which that Directive requires consultation between competent authorities from two or more Member States.