Brussels, 16/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - This Thursday the European Commission presented two Communications aiming to modernise Community rules enforced on investment services. These texts open a period of consultations that will finish in March, in view of the presentation of new proposals at the end of 2001. They are part of the framework for the action plan for financial service whose aim is to create for 2005 a totally integrated single market.
The first communication, of a general nature, concerns the modernisation of the Directive on investment services (93/22EEC). Entering into force five years ago, this text made it possible to eliminate a first series of legal obstacles. It notably introduced a "single passport" for investment companies, enabling them to operate at a European level on the basis of mutual recognition of the monitoring undertaken by the authorities of the Member State of origin. "In the context of the present market, this Directive is no longer current, and certain parts no longer work well", explained a European Commission civil servant. The European executive gives itself as main tasks: a) to create a legal environment in which the passport should immediately sufficient for operations between professional and would be progressively extended to services provided to small investors (at the present time, a certified service provider in one Member State of the Union may be subject to the rules of conduct of the host Member State for marketing these services); b) establish an appropriate regulatory framework for negotiation infrastructures - including new electronic systems; c) reflect on the need to give common responses on regulation and surveillance of the concentration of compensation and regulation functions.
The second communication is on the application of the rules for investor protection (Article 11 of the directive on investment services). It analyses the accumulated experience on professional rules of conduct since enforcement of the directive, and proposes ways to better reconcile enterprises' use of the "single passport" with appropriate investor protection (differentiating between professional investors and the others).
These communications may be consulted on the Europa site of the European Commission (http: //europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/whatsnew.htm ; and comments may be sent by 31 March 2001 at the latest to the European Commission, addressed: DG MARKT/F, rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels). They make up the elements of a more global strategy aimed at strengthening the legislative framework of the transferable securities markets. Other proposals are expected to be made over the next few months, mainly concerning the single passport for issuers of transferable securities and market manipulation.