Review of the European market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR)

Background

A safe, robust and competitive clearing ecosystem is an essential part of a well-functioning Capital Markets Union (CMU). But we are not there yet, and European financial markets are put at risk by overdependence on services provided by third-country Central Counterparties (CCPs), especially in the UK. CCPs are highly regulated financial entities that help facilitate the clearing and settlement process in financial markets. While CCPs have traditionally served one market in one country, they have more recently expanded to serve multiple markets across national borders. In December 2022, as part of a larger package of measures designed to further develop the CMU, the Commission proposed a new European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) to enhance the clearing capacity within the EU.

Key points

In the opinion, the EESC:

• welcomes the proposal of the Commission and its efforts towards strategic autonomy of capital markets, increased internal clearing capacity and a more robust clearing system, but expected a clearer stance on reducing exposure to UK central counterparties (CCPs) and more specific rules and incentives after Brexit;
• asks the Commission to explain the specific definition of the term "urgently", and for the co-legislators to establish which exemptions are considered "urgent" decisions; asks for social, governance and environmental risks of CCPs to be included in the risk models; suggests that CCPs should be transparent about fees, margin calls and actions during periods of market stress; and considers that further action should be taken to reduce the time required to authorise or extend parallel activities and services with more transparency;
• proposes that civil society be involved in the monitoring mechanism established under Article 23c, and that the EESC takes part in the Joint Monitoring Mechanism as an observer.

The full text of the opinion can be found here. 

Additional information

Section: Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO)

Opinion number: ECO/601

Opinion type: Mandatory referral

Rapporteur: Florian MARIN

Reference: COM(2022) 696 final / COM(2022) 697 final – 2022/0403 (COD)

Date of adoption by section: 02/03/2023

Results of the vote: 63 in favour / 1 against / 1 abstention

Date of adoption in plenary:

Result of the vote:

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