MEPs in plenary are set to vote on Wednesday 25 November on adjustments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) regarding disclosure requirements, product governance and position limits, proposed by the Commission in July to help the post-Covid-19 economic recovery (see EUROPE 12535/11).
On Tuesday they voted on amendments tabled by the political groups to the text adopted by the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) at the end of October (see EUROPE 12592/10). The text as amended by the vote in plenary in the end remains very close to the version adopted by the ECON Committee, but falls far short of satisfying everyone.
During the debate preceding the vote, several MEPs from the S&D, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups expressed their concerns about the risk of financial deregulation caused by the adoption of these “quick fixes”.
One of the key points of the vote was the position limits. In order to revive emerging euro-denominated energy markets, the Commission had effectively proposed to relax the position limit regime for these derivative contracts. This proposal, which has been maintained in the draft report by Markus Ferber (EPP, Germany), has also led the S&D and Greens/EFA groups to mobilise in order not to allow the rapporteur the necessary majority to start interinstitutional negotiations with the EU Council.
The S&D and Greens/EFA groups felt that this provision would considerably weaken the current regime of position limits, so at the plenary session they returned to the attack to try to preserve the current regime while allowing some flexibility for derivative contracts.
Oxfam has also campaigned against this proposal, which would, in the organisation's view, remove important safeguards that limit financial speculation on essential commodities and could lead to higher food prices and increased hunger in the world.
In the end, the only amendment that was adopted on Tuesday was that of the S&D and Greens/EFA calling on the Commission to present a report on the impact of the application of position limits and the management of positions on liquidity, market abuse and the orderly listing and efficient settlement of commodity derivatives markets.
“This is not deregulation, it is adaptation”, said Markus Ferber in the debate before the vote, reassuring MEPs that the change was primarily aimed at strengthening the role of the euro and improving market access for smaller participants.
“We have to stop seeing markets as the enemy. If the rules are sensible, financial markets can be a force for good”, he said.
For her part, EU Financial Services Commissioner Mairead McGuinness assured MEPs that “the Commission is not using the Covid-19 crisis as a cover to introduce opportunities for food or energy price speculation”.
Despite the criticism, a parliamentary source nevertheless said on Tuesday that the text had a good chance of getting the majority required for its adoption. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)