On Tuesday 7 December, EU Finance Ministers gave a generally favourable reception to the package of four pieces of legislation aimed at boosting the Capital Markets Union (CMU) in the European Union (see EUROPE 12840/6).
ESAP. Several national delegations referred in particular to the proposal to set up, by the end of 2024, a European Single Access Point (ESAP), which will bring together all the regulatory information that financial actors must provide on their activities and products to both the market and supervisors (see EUROPE 12836/6).
If developed “carefully”, this tool will bring real added value, according to Slovakia. For Italy and Spain, the ESAP will promote a better allocation of investments within the internal market. France stressed that it is important that the future portal does not lead to additional reporting requirements.
Germany, on the other hand, has advocated that the ESAP be managed by a private company, whereas the proposal on the table assigns this role to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
MiFIR. On the proposal to reform the markets in financial instruments (‘MiFIR’), the envisaged creation of a ‘consolidated tape’ of the publication of data has been welcomed by several countries such as Estonia and Germany (see EUROPE 12839/2).
Italy has called for a proper calibration of the categories of financial securities for which increased transparency of transactions will be introduced.
AIMFD. Ireland and Luxembourg have said they will pay close attention to the negotiations on the reform of the hedge fund directive (AIMFD - see EUROPE 12835/9), pointing to the international recognition of European hedge funds through European legislation.
They welcomed the European Commission’s measured approach, which seeks to strike a balance between developing this market segment while maintaining a robust system of supervision and protection for institutional investors.
Taxonomy. During the debate, France initiated a discussion on the activities to be included in the European Union’s taxonomy (see EUROPE 12847/9), urging the European Commission to present a second delegated act including nuclear power as soon as possible.
Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Italy supported it. Malta has requested the inclusion of gas as a transitional activity. For Romania and the Czech Republic, nuclear and gas will have to be included in the second delegated act.
Sweden also indicated that it could not accept the first delegated act (see EUROPE 12806/17) as it stands, as the contribution of the forestry sector to the environmental transition was not sufficiently recognised.
EU Commissioner for Financial Services Mairead McGuinness has expressed hope that both delegated acts will be assessed “on their own merits”, with investors and businesses requiring clarity from January 2022 on which investments are considered sustainable. Speaking to the press, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said that the second delegated act covering gas and nuclear would be presented “in the near future”, in line with the commitments made by President Ursula von der Leyen. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)