The European Commission has launched a call for evidence on its review of the application of the Market Abuse Directive, including some preliminary findings and proposals to improve and simplify this Directive.
The Market Abuse Directive aims to ensure that behaviour such as insider dealing and market manipulation is properly deterred and sanctioned. The review is a key element of the Commission’s policy to strengthen the EU regulatory framework for financial services set out in the Communication on “Driving European recovery” and of its action plan to reduce administrative burdens on EU companies by 25% by the end of 2012.
Issues addressed by the consultation:
After extensive discussion with stakeholders, including the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) and the European Securities Markets Expert Group (ESME), the Commission considers that specific elements of the Market Abuse Directive should be reviewed.
The Commission considers that the effect of the Market Abuse Directive has generally been positive. It has defined different types of market abuse, created important obligations and specified the means to deter and sanction abusive behaviour.
The Commission has however identified some elements of the Directive that should be reviewed in order to improve its effectiveness and to reduce where possible unnecessary burdens. These issues include:
-The scope of the markets and financial instruments covered by the Directive;-The ability of listed issuers to delay disclosure of inside information;-Disclosure of inside information by issuers of commodity derivatives;-The ability of competent authorities to gain access to telephone records and other data;-The obligation to draw up insiders’ lists and to report the transactions of managers of issuers.
“This review aims to improve and simplify the Market Abuse Directive,” says Charlie McCreevy, internal market and services commissioner. “It efficiently contributes to the plan of European recovery and enhances market integrity in turbulent times like the ones we are going through. I encourage all interested parties to give us their views.”
L.D.