21 October 2013

Commission sends mandate to ESMA for advice on possible delegated acts concerning the Market Abuse Regulation

The Commission is seeking ESMA's technical advice on possible delegated actsconcerning the Regulation on insider dealing and market manipulation (market abuse). These delegated acts should be adopted in accordance with Article 290 of the TFEU.

The mandate focuses on technical issues which follow from the Regulation. The Commission considers that the following delegated acts provided for by this Regulation should be adopted so that they enter into application by 24 months following the entry into force of the Regulation, taking into account the right of the European Parliament and Council to object to a delegated act within three months (which can be extended by a further three months):

a) The specification of the indicators of market manipulation laid down in the Annex I of the Regulation, in order to clarify their elements and to take into account technical developments on financial markets (Article 8 par. 5).

b) The establishment of a minimum threshold of carbon dioxide equivalent and a minimum threshold of rated thermal input for the purposes of application of the exemption provided for in subparagraph 2 of paragraph 2 of Article 12 with respect to the public disclosure of inside information (Article 12 par. 2, third subparagraph).

c) The specification of the competent authority for the notifications in paragraphs 3 and 4 of article 12 with respect to the public disclosure of inside information (Article 12 par. 2, third subparagraph).

d) The specification of the circumstances under which trading during a closed period may be permitted by the issuer, as referred to in paragraph 4a of Article 14, including the circumstances that would be considered as exceptional and the types of dealings that would justify the permission for trading (Article 14 par. 4b).

e) The specification of the characteristics of a manager’s transaction referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 14 which trigger the notification duty (Article 14 par. 6).

The European Parliament and the Council have been duly informed about this mandate. After the delivery of the technical advice by ESMA, in accordance with the Declaration 39 on Article 290 TFEU, annexed to the Final Act of the Intergovernmental Conference which adopted the Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007, the Commission will continue to consult experts appointed by the Member States in the preparation of possible delegated acts in the financial services area.

Also, the Commission will carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, and will ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the council when preparing and drawing up delegated acts in accordance with recital 42 of the Regulation.

Full document, 8.10.13

© European Commission