Reforming EU securities laws: the new EU Prospectus Regulation

Abstract

Purpose

To analyse the changes brought about by the new EU Prospectus Regulation, which replaced the EU Prospectus Directive, which has been the cornerstone of EU securities regulation for over a decade. The Regulation is part of the EU Commission’s plans for a Capital Markets Union launched in September 2015, which is intended to achieve a true single market for capital across the EU and allow companies to access the capital markets in a more cost efficient way.

Design/methodology/approach

This article discusses the key changes to the European prospectus regime included in the new EU Prospectus Regulation and highlights the changes compared to the old prospectus regime.

Findings

The new Prospectus Regulation will change current prospectus rules and practice for both equity and debt issuances in several areas and will contribute to a more uniform European prospectus regime. For EU Member States, the format of a regulation (rather than directive) that the new Prospectus Regulation has taken means that there will be much less room for divergence of prospectus rules across its member states. The Regulation’s success in making EU capital markets more uniform will depend to a great extent on whether the application of the new rules by member states’ regulators will be more consistent.

Originality/value

Key EU securities law changes are explained by an experienced EU and US securities lawyer practising in London.

Citation

Fischer-Appelt, D. (2017), "Reforming EU securities laws: the new EU Prospectus Regulation", Journal of Investment Compliance, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 53-58. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOIC-08-2017-0055