EU Parliament Approves Final Draft Of Prospectus Directive

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

04 July 2003

The European Parliament announced this week that it has approved the final draft of the EU Prospectus Directive for share and bond issuers, a move which has met with the approval of the European Commission.

Under the terms of the new directive - which is expected to be approved by EU finance ministers at the next ECOFIN meeting - once a share or bond issuer has had their prospectus approved in one member state, it will then be accepted in every other EU country, subject to the prospectus meeting common European Union standards with regard to information disclosure.

Speaking on Wednesday, Internal Market Commissioner, Frits Bolkestein announced that:

'I am very pleased that the European Parliament has approved the proposal and stuck to the essence of the Commission's proposal. I now hope the Council of Ministers will quickly follow suit.'

He continued:

'This directive will be good for issuers and for investors. It will make it easier to raise capital on an EU-wide basis and boost the competitiveness of the European economy. It will also increase confidence in the markets and in corporate information.'

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