European Commission consults on the Market Abuse Directive

The European Commission has published a consultation paper on the Market Abuse Directive, following a Call for Evidence issued last year. The paper considers extending the scope of the Directive to multilateral trading facilities (MTFs), but recognises that there will need to be an adapted regime for SMEs. As such, the paper focuses on whether there is a need for this regime and how to apply the regime. The QCA Markets & Regulations and Legal Committees are examining this paper and Tim Ward recently spoke at a public hearing in Brussels on this issue. To read the consultation paper, please visit the European Commission's website.