Brussels, 23/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - The negotiating process by the European institutions on review of the EU Market Abuse Directive 2003/6/EC begins on Thursday 24 January 2013. Heading the talks for the European Parliament is Arlene McCarthy (S&D, UK), who said at a Centre for European Studies (CEPS) thinktank conference on 23 January 2013 that the EU must cease to be a haven for financial players wanting to commit fraud, which is why MEPs are calling for prison sentences of at least five years for the worst crimes (see EUROPE 10707).
McCarthy hoped agreement would be reached on the section of the directive relating to publication of insider information by the issuers of financial instruments. She said market abuse was a global problem and therefore had to be covered by international rules.
The member states issued a common position in December (see EUROPE 10746), stating that national penalties must be effective, dissuasive and proportionate and apply also to abuse and manipulation of market benchmarks (this was added following the LIBOR scandal in the City of London recently). (MB/transl.fl)