Following the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2024/29871 (EMIR 3) on 24 December 2024, which has amended Regulation (EU) No 648/20122 (EMIR), and the expiry of the six-month compliance period for the active account requirement (AAR) for counterparties subject to the AAR on the date EMIR 3 entered into force, the AAR has been applicable since 25 June 2025.
Specifically, under Article 7a of EMIR, counterparties (including funds, management companies, banks, PFS, etc.) that have been subject to the clearing obligation under Articles 4a and 10 of EMIR since 24 December 2024, or that have become subject to the clearing obligation thereafter, and that exceed the EUR 3 billion clearing threshold for interest rate OTC derivatives in any of the following categories of derivative contracts (in an individual category or on aggregate across all categories):
- interest rate derivatives denominated in euro or Polish zloty;
- short-term interest rate derivatives denominated in euro,
must maintain, for those categories of derivative contracts, at least one active account at an authorised CCP and clear a representative number of trades through that account.
Where a counterparty becomes subject to the active account requirement (AAR) under Article 7a(1) of EMIR, it must notify the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and its relevant competent authority, and establish such an account within six months of becoming subject to the obligation. For the first group of counterparties, this deadline was 25 June 2025.
Article 7a(3) of EMIR sets out the requirements for the AAR, and Article 7b of EMIR lays down related reporting requirements. In this context, ESMA developed and published its final report on the conditions of the AAR on 19 June 20253. This final report provides the draft RTS specifying the requirements under Article 7a(3)(a), (b), and (c) of EMIR, the conditions for stress-testing, the details of the representativeness obligation under Article 7a(3)(d) of EMIR, and the reporting requirements under Article 7b of EMIR.
ESMA will submit the final report and draft RTS to the European Commission. The Commission will then have three months to decide whether to adopt the RTS (in the form of a Commission Delegated Regulation). Once adopted, the RTS are subject to non-objection by the European Parliament and the Council.
Footnotes
1. Regulation (EU) 2024/2987 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 amending Regulations (EU) No 648/2012, (EU) No 575/2013 and (EU) 2017/1131 as regards measures to mitigate excessive exposures to third-country central counterparties and improve the efficiency of Union clearing markets.
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