The Council of the EU has announced the adoption of revised rules under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), following the publication of amendments to three directives earlier this month. According to a statement from the council, the focus of the new rules is on improving EU clearing services by “streamlining and shortening procedures, improving consistency between rules, and strengthening CCP supervision”.
The council acknowledges that some UK CCPs are of “such substantial systemic importance” that the regulation was “insufficient to manage the risks to the financial stability of the union”. On the flip side, certain third-country CCPs that are not as systemically important “present fewer risks” to the EU’s stability. To “enhance the proportionality of measures” for differing levels of systemic importance, “it is necessary to further tailor the framework”.
The revised rules also include the simplification of a framework that exempts intra-group transactions from the clearing obligation and margin requirements. The aim is to “provide more legal certainty and predictability”.
