The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a consultation paper seeking feedback on Guidelines for supplements that introduce new types of securities to a base prospectus. The Guidelines aim to standardise and harmonise the supervision of 'product supplements' across national competent authorities (NCAs) due to past inconsistencies and divergences in supervisory approaches. Stakeholders, including issuers and financial market participants involved with base prospectuses under Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the EU Prospectus Regulation), are encouraged to submit their input by 19 May 2025. The Guidelines focus on ensuring that supplements provide material information relevant to securities already described in a base prospectus and encourage issuers to anticipate the types of securities they may issue during the prospectus's validity period. The feedback received will be considered in Q2 and Q3 2025, with the final Guidelines expected to be published in Q4 2025, providing greater clarity for market participants when submitting security-related supplements to NCAs across the EU.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is consulting on proposed amendments to its Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) guidelines on the delay in the disclosure of inside information. Responses are sought by 29 April 2026. Based on the responses received, ESMA aims to publish a final report in Q4 2026.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a consultation on amendments to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229 aimed at enhancing settlement efficiency. The proposals include reduced timeframes for allocations and confirmations, the use of electronic, machine-readable formats, and the implementation of hold & release and partial settlement by all central securities depositories. The consultation also seeks stakeholder input on additional measures to improve settlement efficiency, considering the transition to T+1 in the EU. Responses are sought by 14 April 2025, with a final report expected by October 2025.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is seeking feedback on draft guidelines under the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) on the criteria for assessing the knowledge and competence of staff at cryptoasset service providers (CASPs) who provide information or advice on cryptoassets or related services. Responses are sought by 22 April 2025, after which ESMA will prepare a final report, expected in Q3 2025, for submission to the European Commission.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is consulting on draft technical standards (RTS) specifying the criteria for how investment firms establish and assess the effectiveness of their order execution policies. Responses are sought by 16 October 2024. Based on the input received, ESMA will prepare a final report for subsequent submission of the final draft RTS to the European Commission for endorsement by 29 December 2024.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a consultation paper on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) under the Regulation (EU) 2024/3005 on the transparency and integrity of environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating activities (ESG Rating Regulation). ESMA’s proposals set out the information requirements for applications for authorisation and recognition of ESG rating providers, the measures and safeguards to mitigate conflicts of interest for providers engaging in activities beyond the provision of ESG ratings, and the disclosure obligations to ensure that the necessary information is made available to the public, rated items, issuers and users of ESG ratings. The proposals are designed to enhance the integrity, transparency, comparability, and independence of ESG rating activities, while also aiming to simplify procedures and reduce burdens for smaller providers. Responses are sought by 20 June 2025, with the expectation of publishing a final report in Q4 2025 and submitting the draft RTS to the European Commission by the end of October 2025.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a consultation to gather feedback on changes to the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) introduced by the Listing Act. Responses are sought by 13 February 2025 and technical advice will be provided to the European Commission by 30 April 2025.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a consultation paper on draft implementing technical standards (ITS) for insider lists as part of Listing Act amendments to the Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014(MAR). The proposal aims to extend the simplified insider list format, currently used by small and medium enterprises (SME) growth market (GM) issuers, to all issuers. Responses are sought by 3 June 2025 and ESMA aims to submit the final ITS to the European Commission in Q4 2025.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a public consultation on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) amending Commission Delegated Regulation 153/2013, following the review of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR 3). The consultation seeks views on conditions for central counterparties (CCPs) to accept public guarantees, public bank guarantees and commercial bank guarantees as collateral, conditions for debt instruments as eligible financial instruments for CCP investment policy, and highly secured arrangements for emission allowances posted as margins or default fund contributions. EMIR 3 permanently broadens the types of guarantees acceptable as eligible collateral and extends scope to clients of CCPs that are non-financial counterparties. The consultation closes on 30 April 2026, with ESMA expected to submit final draft RTS to the European Commission by end-2026.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is consulting on draft guidelines and technical standards under the revised Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Directive, which introduced provisions on the availability and use of liquidity management tools (LMTs). ESMA is now consulting on how to apply these provisions in practice. Responses are sought by 8 October 2024, with the final RTS and guidelines due by 16 April 2025.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a consultation on guidelines on internal controls for benchmark administrators, credit rating agencies and market transparency infrastructures (trade and securitisation respositories). The consultation closes on 18 March 2025.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is consulting on non-equity trade transparency, reasonable commercial basis (RCB) and reference data under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) review. ESMA’s proposals aim at enhancing the information available to stakeholders by improving, simplifying and further harmonising transparency in capital markets. Responses are sought by 28 August 2024. After reviewing the feedback, ESMA will publish a final report and submit the draft technical standards to the European Commission by the end of Q4 2024.