The European Commission has responded to a request from the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) to clarify the definition of “financial instruments” under Directive 2004/39/EC on markets in financial instruments (“MiFID”) which is used in defining under Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories (“EMIR”).
The lack of clarity in whether certain types of derivatives fall within the definition of “financial instruments” is preventing EMIR being applied consistently throughout the European Union
The European Commission has indicated that it agrees with ESMA that it is essential that EMIR is applied consistently throughout the European Union.
In order to achieve this the Internal Market and Services Directorate General (“”) will urgently assess the options for ensuring consistent application of EMIR.
The European Commission has also set out some preliminary views on the issues highlighted by ESMA. Please click here to view these