The European Commission launched, on 28 June, a public consultation on the review of the Market Abuse Directive (2003/6/EC) in order to determine the views of financial market participants, governments, competent authorities and other stakeholders on the modifications to the directive that the Commission is considering in view of the legislative proposal, which is planned for adoption by the executive before the end of the year. The consultation, which closes on 23 July, sets out options in the following areas: rules intended to extend the scope of the directive; rules intended to enhance the effectiveness and coordination of the enforcement and sanctioning powers of the competent authorities, as well as the role of the European Securities and Markets Authority; and rules intended to enhance the level of harmonisation and coordination among regulators in the EU, with the objective of creating a single rulebook. The issues set out in the consultation document will also be debated at a public hearing, taking place in Brussels on 2 July, and which will bring together senior policy makers, regulators, industry experts and academics.

The aim of the directive is to guarantee dissuasive measures and appropriate sanctions as a means of combating certain illegal behaviour, such as insider trading and market manipulation. It therefore includes certain obligations, such as establishing lists of insider trading, declaring suspicious transactions and divulging operations executed by staff members of issuing companies. It also obliges issuers to divulge privileged information and reinforces measures available to regulation authorities to combat market abuse and reinforces cooperation during international enquiries.

The review of the directive is a key element in the Commission’s strategy to reinforce the EU’s regulatory framework on financial services as foreseen in the ‘Driving the European recovery’ communication. The Commission believes that the directive has had a generally positive effect but that certain points need to be revised in order to improve efficiency and eliminate unnecessary costs. Included in the list of topics to be revised are: the markets and the financial instruments covered by the directive; the possibility that listed issuers may delay disclosing inside information; the disclosure of inside information by issuers of commodity derivatives; the possibility of allowing the competent authorities access to recorded telephone conversations and other data; the obligation of compiling lists of insider dealing and to provide information on transactions carried out by executed by staff members of issuing companies.