On Wednesday 7 May, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an opinion addressed to the European Commission in support of the objectives of the Listing Act. This legislative package, which came into force in December 2024 for implementation from March 2026, aims to simplify listing requirements and improve access to capital markets for EU companies - particularly SMEs (see EUROPE 13524/31).
ESMA issued technical recommendations on two important texts.
With regard to the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), the authority specifies when companies must make certain sensitive information public and when they cannot delay publication. The EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor is also proposing a method for identifying stock exchanges where trading has a strong cross-border dimension.
With regard to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), ESMA is proposing to adjust certain rules to allow not only entire multilateral trading facilities (MTFs) but also specific sections of these MTFs to obtain the ‘SME Growth Markets’ label. The idea is to make it easier for SMEs to access financial markets by cutting red tape, while maintaining rules to protect investors and ensure their confidence.
Before the texts come into force, the Commission is expected to adopt delegated acts on the basis of the various ESMA recommendations.
To see the ESMA report: https://aeur.eu/f/gpc (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)