EC confirms key date for MiFID II

The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee is expected to select a rapporteur on 10 May for the European Commission's forthcoming MiFID II legislative proposals.
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The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) is expected to select a rapporteur on 10 May for the European Commission's forthcoming MiFID II legislative proposals.

The rapporteur will be responsible for writing a report on the legislation for ECON, which provides the basis for subsequent amendments from committee members. The rapporteur is also responsible for working out any compromises between rival amendments that may be required prior to a vote on the legislation by ECON. Any amends passed by the committee must then be voted on by all MEPs in a plenary session in the European Parliament before a common text is agreed with the Council of the European Union.

The EC's MiFID II proposals were originally to be published mid-May, but this has been delayed to July at the earliest, according to ECON member and UK Conservative MEP Kay Swinburne, with some market participants even positing September as likely.

The consultation exercise conducted by the EC on MiFID II closed in February. In addition, a paper by Swinburne, ”Regulation of trading in financial instruments: dark pools etc.', which recommended examining minimum order sizes for unlit venues, delegations from representative groups and research conducted by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Europe's securities market regulator, will also provide informal guidance on the final regulation.

Based on the consultation document, MiFID II is expected to recommend the introduction of a consolidated tape, a more rigorous and detailed categorisation of trading venues, reduced delays in post-trade reporting and tighter regulation of automated and high-frequency trading.

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