Decision to postpone MiFID II und MiFIR
The long-discussed postponement of the application of MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II) and MiFIR (Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation) has now been officially decided. The amending Directive (EU) 2014/1034 and Regulation (EU) 2014/1033 were published today in the Official Journal of the EU.
Originally, the member states were to finalise the necessary adjustments to their national law by 3 July 2016. The new provisions were to be applicable in principle from 3 January 2017. However, in view of the scope and technical complexity of the regulations, timely implementation by the companies and supervisory authorities concerned was not realistic. This was due in particular to delays in the adoption of the numerous delegated acts and standards that are important for practical implementation and that substantiate MiFID II and MiFIR.
The Council and the European Parliament have now given the green light for these deadlines to be postponed by one year in each case. National implementation measures must therefore be in place by 3 July 2017, but the new rules do not have to be applied until 3 January 2018.
In addition, the EU legislators have agreed on some limited changes to the content of MiFID II and MiFIR, in particular with regard to pre-trade transparency requirements for packages of transactions, the extension of the exemption for persons trading in financial instruments for their own account, and the transparency of securities financing transactions.
