EC Publishes League Table Of Member States' Implementation Of Securities Directives

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

08 July 2005

The European Commission revealed on Wednesday that it has published a “Lamfalussy league table”, documenting Member States’ success in meeting deadlines for the writing into national law of a series of securities directives that were adopted as part of the Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP).

The league table shows that 20 Member States did not fully implement the prospectus directive before the deadline of 1 July 2005, which could disrupt the smooth introduction of the "single passport for issuers", intended to make securities available to investors either through a public offer procedure or by admitting their shares to trading.

It additionally shows that 16 Member States have not yet fully implemented the market abuse directive, for which the deadline was 12 October 2004.

Internal Market and Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy observed that:

“Over the last six years we have made great strides towards a more open, integrated and competitive European financial market. However, some Member States are still lagging behind on the securities directives. This is frankly very disappointing, bordering on the lamentable. This is going to hamper the efficiency of Europe’s capital markets and the vital ‘single passport for issuers’. I hope this league table will encourage these Member States to act quickly and I strongly urge them to do so. We will continue to monitor the situation like hawks.”

Recommended