Since Wednesday 22 January, the European Commission has been consulting European Union countries on the advisability of extending by three years - until the end of June 2028 - the decision establishing the equivalence of prudential rules governing clearing houses (CCPs) in force in the EU and the United Kingdom (see EUROPE 12886/17).
The Member States have five days to approve a draft decision on the table or to reject it by qualified majority, having been consulted via the relevant working group of the Council of the EU. If the green light is given, the legislative text will be forwarded to the College of Commissioners for adoption.
During her confirmation hearing in the European Parliament, the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Maria Albuquerque, acknowledged the “anomaly” of the EU’s dependence on financial infrastructure located in London, especially since Brexit, while stressing the importance of keeping capital markets “operational” (see EUROPE 13519/1).
At the end of 2021, two British clearing houses - LCH and ICE Clear Europe - were identified as “systemically important for the financial stability of the EU” by the European Securities and Markets Authority, noted Olof Gill, the European Commission’s spokesperson for financial services, in a press release. In his view, “the extension of the equivalence regime is necessary to avoid any risk to financial stability in the short term”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)