European Commission asks ESMA for technical advice on MAR implementing acts

The European Commission has published a request to ESMA for technical advice on implementing acts relating to the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The implementing acts are required to specify the procedures to enable reporting of actual or potential infringements of MAR to competent authorities.  These include in particular the specification of procedures to enable reporting of actual or potential infringements of this Regulation to competent authorities, including

• the arrangements for reporting and for following up reports,
• measures for the protection of persons working under a contract of employment; and
• measures for the protection of personal data

as envisaged in article 32(5) of MAR.

The request also encourages ESMA to indicate guidelines and recommendations that it believes should accompany the implementing acts to better ensure their effectiveness.

The request sets out the following indicative timeline for MAR:

• 12 Jun 2014 - Publication of MAR in the Official Journal of the European Union (estimated)
• 1 Jul 2014 - Entry into force of the Regulation
• 1 Mar 2015 - ESMA provides its technical advice
• 1 Dec 2015 -  Preparation, adoption of the implementing acts
• Jun 2016 - Publication of implementing acts in Official Journal
• Jul 2016 - Date of application of the Regulation and the implementing acts.

ESMA's consultation on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) - in respect of which an initial Discussion Paper was published last  November - is expected to be published within the next month.