On September 14, 2016, the European Commission published a communication calling for an acceleration of the capital markets union (CMU) reforms (COM(2016) 601 final) in light of the current political and economic context.
Elements of particular interest to financial services practitioners include:
- The Commission will support the co-legislators in reaching an agreement by the end of 2016 on the modernization of the prospectus rules;
- The Commission calls on both the European Parliament and the European Council to finalize the Regulation amending the European Social Entrepreneurship Funds Regulation (Regulation 346/2013) (EuSEF Regulation) and the European Venture Capital Funds Regulation (Regulation 345/2013) (EuVECA Regulation) also by the end of 2016;
- The prospect of a legislative proposal being tabled in 2017 relating to a simple, efficient and competitive EU personal pension product;
- To reduce capital charges attaching to investments by insurers in infrastructure corporates, the Commission will adopt an amendment to the Solvency II Delegated Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2015/35);
- In the hope of strengthening retail investor participation in capital markets and opening up the EU market for retail financial services, the Commission will present an action plan on retail financial services.
The Annex to the communication also provides an update on the CMU action plan initiatives.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
