Electronic Compliance Object · European Union
The rules every EU/EEA market shares — product governance, prospectus, market abuse, periodic reporting and its format — and where each market's own object is.
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator and the competent-authority model | European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) - 'ESMA is the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor.' NCA model: 'the Board of Supervisors is composed of the heads of the national competent authorities (NCAs) in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) responsible for securities regulation and supervision', with non-voting representatives of the European Commission, ESRB, EBA, EIOPA and the EFTA Surveillance Authority; Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway sit as 'European Economic Area members (non-voting)' www.esma.europa.eu | www.esma.europa.eu/about-esma www.esma.europa.eu/about-esma/governance-structure/board-of-supervisors |
| MiFID II product governance | Directive 2014/65/EU art. 16(3): 'An investment firm which manufactures financial instruments for sale to clients shall maintain, operate and review a process for the approval of each financial instrument and significant adaptations of existing financial instruments ...'; art. 24(2): manufacturers 'shall ensure that those financial instruments are designed to meet the needs of an identified target market of end clients within the relevant category of clients ...'. Current ESMA guidelines: 'Guidelines on MiFID II product governance requirements', ESMA35-43-3448, dated 03/08/2023, applying to Art. 9(3), 16(3) and 16(6), 24(1) and 24(2) of MiFID II and 'Articles 9 and 10 of the Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593'; they 'apply as from two months from the date of publication of the guidelines on ESMA's website in all EU official languages' www.esma.europa.eu/document/guidelines-mifid-ii-product-governance-requirements-0 | www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/mifid-ii/article-16-organisational-requirements www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/mifid-ii/article-24-general-principles-and www.esma.europa.eu/document/guidelines-mifid-ii-product-governance-requirements-0 www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2023-08/ESMA35-43-3448_Guidelines_on_product_governance.pdf |
| Prospectus Regulation | Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 art. 1(1): 'This Regulation lays down requirements for the drawing up, approval and distribution of the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market situated or operating within a Member State.' Amended by the Listing Act package published in the OJEU on 14 November 2024 (a Regulation amending the Prospectus Regulation, MAR and MiFIR) www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/prospectus-regulation | www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/prospectus-regulation/article-1-subject-matter www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2026-10/ESMA74-268544963-1718_Final_report_-_MAR_Guidelines_on_delay_in_the_disclosure_of_inside_information.pdf |
| Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) | Regulation (EU) No 596/2014. Art. 17 (as amended by the Listing Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/2809): the obligation 'to inform the public as soon as possible about the inside information directly concerning the issuer' does not apply, from June 2026, to intermediate steps in a protracted process - 'only the final circumstances or final event shall be required to be disclosed, as soon as possible after they have occurred'; ESMA Final Report on revised MAR Guidelines on delay in the disclosure of inside information, ESMA74-268544963-1718, 16 October 2026. Art. 18: ESMA ITS on 'the precise format of insider lists and the format to update them'. Art. 19: ESMA ITS on 'the format and template for the notification of managers' transactions'; ESMA publishes 'the list of thresholds that apply'. Art. 19 notification deadline not read on an official page (EUR-Lex blocked) www.esma.europa.eu/esmas-activities/markets-and-infrastructure/market-integrity | www.esma.europa.eu/esmas-activities/markets-and-infrastructure/market-integrity www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2026-10/ESMA74-268544963-1718_Final_report_-_MAR_Guidelines_on_delay_in_the_disclosure_of_inside_information.pdf |
| Transparency Directive — periodic reports | Annual financial report (Directive 2004/109/EC art. 4(1)) — deadline: The issuer shall make public its annual financial report at the latest four months after the end of each financial year and shall ensure that it remains publicly available for at least 10 years. Half-yearly financial report (art. 5(1)) — deadline: as soon as possible after the end of the relevant period, but at the latest three months thereafter. The issuer shall ensure that the half-yearly financial report remains available to the public for at least 10 years. www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/transparency-directive | www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/transparency-directive/article-4-annual-financial www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/transparency-directive/article-5-half-yearly |
| ESEF — the reporting format | Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/815 (RTS on ESEF, amended yearly by ESMA). TD art. 4(7): 'For financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2020, all annual financial reports shall be prepared in a single electronic reporting format'. ESMA: 'All AFRs are prepared in XHTML'; where AFRs contain IFRS consolidated financial statements 'these are marked-up with the labels or tags contained in the ESEF taxonomy using Inline XBRL' www.esma.europa.eu/issuer-disclosure/electronic-reporting | www.esma.europa.eu/issuer-disclosure/electronic-reporting www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/transparency-directive/article-4-annual-financial |
| FIRDS — instrument reference data | ESMA Financial Instruments Reference Data System (FIRDS) register; file index at registers.esma.europa.eu/solr/esma_registers_firds_files (19,108 files at fetch, e.g. FULINS, with download links on firds.esma.europa.eu). Legal basis MiFIR art. 27(1): trading venues 'shall provide ESMA with identifying reference data for the purposes of transaction reporting pursuant to Article 26 and of the transparency requirements' registers.esma.europa.eu/publication/searchRegister?core=esma_registers_firds | registers.esma.europa.eu/publication/searchRegister?core=esma_registers_firds registers.esma.europa.eu/solr/esma_registers_firds_files/select?q=*&rows=1&wt=json www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/mifir/article-27-obligation-supply-financial |
| Officially appointed mechanisms / ESAP | TD art. 21(2): 'The home Member State shall ensure that there is at least one officially appointed mechanism for the central storage of regulated information.' ESAP (ESAP Regulation, with Omnibus Directive 2023/2864 and Omnibus Regulation 2023/2869): 'In July 2026, ESAP will start collecting information from Collection Bodies'; 'Information will then be made accessible to the public by July 2027'; phase 2 January 2028; phase 2bis January 2029; phase 3 'If confirmed' January 2030. A Collection Body 'may be the NCA, another national body or register, or an EU body such as one of the ESAs' www.esma.europa.eu/esmas-activities/data/european-single-access-point-esap | www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/transparency-directive/article-21-access www.esma.europa.eu/esmas-activities/data/european-single-access-point-esap |
| ISIN and LEI | MiFIR (Regulation (EU) No 600/2014) art. 26(6): 'In reporting the designation to identify the clients as required under paragraphs 3 and 4, investment firms shall use a legal entity identifier established to identify clients that are legal persons.' www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/mifir/article-26-obligation-report-transactions | www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/mifir/article-26-obligation-report-transactions |