Next Step In The Creation Of A Capital Markets Union: Public Consultations Regarding The Eu Regulatory Framework Of The Financial Sector

In the framework of the creation of a Capital Markets Union ("CMU") (please see our newsflash Creation of a Capital Markets Union: the ambitious project of the European Commission dated 16th of February 2015)1, the European Commission issued on the 18th of February 2015 a Green Paper on the subject marking the beginning of a three month consultation that aims at clearly defining the obstacles to this project and gaining consensus on the appropriate solutions.

At the same time, and in relation with the Green Paper on the CMU, two other, separate public consultations were launched by the European Commission with the objective to make an early progress regarding the creation of the CMU, being (i) an assessment of the Prospectus Directive2 and (ii) a consultation on high quality securitisation.

The first consultation launches the review of the Prospectus Directive which has been accelerated to concur with the agenda of the CMU project, whereas the second one aims at the restructuring of the securitisation process in the EU.

Both consultations, as well as the CMU related one, have the same deadline for submission of feedback, being Wednesday 13th of May 2015.

The immense changes ultimately expected from these three projects are part of the bigger so-called Investment Plan for Europe. In November 2014, President Jean-Claude Juncker announced the launch of this ambitious project under which over 300 billion Euros of public and unlocked private investments will be invested in the EU economy between 2015 and 2017:

Green Paper on building the CMU

In addition to what has been recently published here, the following may further be noted with regard to the publication of the Green Paper:

Two documents have been issued alongside the Green Paper in the meantime: (i) a Commission Staff Working Document3 which describes the present situation of the capital markets in the EU and details the obstacles to remove in order to realise the CMU and (ii) a Q&A4 on the Green Paper on building a CMU which summaries the philosophy and the objective of the CMU from the point of the main stakeholders.

In Luxembourg, the Green Paper was transmitted to the members of the Luxembourg Parliament's Commission of Economic Affairs on the 3rd of April. Their task will thus consist, for the 13th of May 2015, in providing the European Commission with a feedback response on the following questions:

Beyond the five priority areas identified for short term action5, which other...