EU Commission Consultation on Derivatives and Market Infrastructure

The European Commission has recently launched several consultations clarifying its plans for regulation of the EU derivatives markets. In its consultations, the Commission seeks comments in three broad areas: the extension of the Market Abuse Directive to cover derivatives, derivatives market infrastructure and regulation of short selling and credit default swaps. Following the consultations, the Commission intends to present formal legislative proposals in September 2010. The Memorandum outlines the Commission’s proposals as set out in the current consultations and concludes by comparing the Commission’s proposals and U.S. efforts to regulate derivatives markets.