As discussed in our Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest edition of February 12, 2016, on February 10, the European Commission (the Commission) announced proposals to provide for a one-year extension to the application dates of the amended Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) (i.e., moving their start date from January 3, 2017 to January 3, 2018).

The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) has now published two draft reports (dated February 16), one in relation to MiFID II (MiFID II Report), and another in relation to MiFIR, the Market Abuse Regulation, and the Regulation on improving securities settlement in the European Union and on central securities depositories (MiFIR Report).

The Reports set out draft European Parliament legislative resolutions in relation to the proposals announced by the Commission on February 10. The draft MiFID II Report amends the date on which Member States must transpose laws to comply with MiFID II from July 3, 2016 to July 3, 2017, and states that the European Parliament adopts the position, taking over the Commission proposal. The MiFID II Report includes a justification for the change, stating that the transposition date should be in line with the delay, particularly as MiFID II implementing legislation is still not available. The draft MiFIR Report similarly states that the European Parliament adopts the position, with no changes noted in the MiFIR Report to the Commission proposal.

The Reports also contain explanatory statements which note the failure of the European Securities and Markets Authority and the Commission to deliver the regulatory technical standards and delegated acts, and acknowledge the necessity of delaying the application dates due to the “immense problems at hand” calling the delay of the application dates by a year “sensible and justified”.

The MiFID II Report can be found here.

The MiFIR Report can be found here.

The proposals in relation to the one-year extension can be located here.