02/02/2021 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 2 February, the EU Council adopted new rules empowering the Commission to designate a replacement index for the so-called “critical” benchmarks and other benchmarks, including those from non-Member States, the discontinuation of which could affect the stability of EU financial markets. These rules were agreed between co-legislators in November (see EUROPE 12612/8). In the immediate term, these new rules aim to prepare theEU, from the end of 2021, for the disappearance of LIBOR (‘London Interbank Offered Rate’), an interbank reference rate on the London market that serves as an indexing basis for thousands of financial contracts. The text will be signed on 10 February and is due to be published in the Official Journal of the EU on 12 February. It will come into force as of the following day. See text: https://bit.ly/3thoYOd (MF)