On 10 July 2014, the European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") published final guidelines relating to financial information enforcement action undertaken by competent authorities of EU member states under the Transparency Directive and by competent authorities of non-EU member EEA countries, to the extent that the Transparency Directive applies in those countries. The aim of the guidelines is to ensure convergence in existing enforcement practices.
The key provisions in the guidelines include:
- establishing common EU enforcement priorities and reporting with the aim of promoting transparency to market participants;
- ensuring that issuers from third countries using an equivalent GAAP to IFRS are subject to equivalent systems of enforcement and co-ordination;
- using a risk-based approach in combination with a sampling and/or rotation approach to issuer selection; and
- a description of the types of enforcement actions and when they should be used.
The guidelines will become effective two months after their publication on ESMA's website in all the official languages of the EU.
The full report is available at: http://www.esma.europa.eu/content/Final-Report-ESMA-Guidelines-enforcement-financial-information.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
