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Europe Pushes Ahead on Long-Awaited Capital Markets Union - BLOOMBERG
(Bloomberg) -- The European Union will move forward Thursday on trying to build a cross-continental financial system with four new legislative proposals, six years after it was first announced and a year after the latest relaunch.
The EU’s executive arm hopes a “capital markets union” will break down barriers between 27 national financial markets and rulebooks to help companies raise money within the bloc.
After years of slow progress, finance firms have urged the EU to deregulate more quickly and boost Covid-battered businesses while competing with rival markets such as London -- which was the EU’s largest financial hub until Brexit took effect this year.
According to draft documents seen by Bloomberg News, Thursday’s proposals will include:
- changes to the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation that would help create data feeds from across several trading venues, known as a consolidated tape. The long-awaited project is intended to give a better view of market conditions throughout the bloc
- a review of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive that aims to add some investor protection while leaving cross-border delegation largely in place
- reforms to allow the public to view financial details of European companies and investment products through a single access point
- changes to European long-term investment funds to make it easier for firms to set up and market these products, particularly for retail investors, after initial adoption rates were sluggish.
The initiatives need to be agreed and adopted by the member states and the European Parliament. The proposals build on plans trailed last year in the bloc’s package of reforms to boost the economy after the pandemic.
The Commission also has plans to relax some listing rules for companies raising money on EU public markets, which will be set out in a legislative proposal in the second half of 2022. It will also work on the long-awaited harmonization of corporate insolvency rules next year, although this will depend on ongoing discussions with member states and the European Parliament.
