Capital markets union: Council agrees its negotiating mandate on the listing act

The Council agreed its negotiating mandate on the listing act, a package which will make EU public capital markets more attractive for EU companies and facilitate access to capital for companies of all sizes, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises.

This initiative is part of the completion of the Capital Markets Union. The proposed measures will further develop the CMU by cutting unnecessary red tape and costs for companies. This will encourage companies to get and remain listed on EU public markets. Easier access to public markets will allow companies to better diversify and complement available sources of funding.

Today’s agreement will help European companies access sources of financing which they until now have not tapped into because of excessive red tape. The new rules will make it easier for companies of all sizes, including SMEs, to list on European stock exchanges.

Elisabeth Svantesson, Minister for Finance of Sweden

Now that member states’ EU ambassadors meeting at the Council have agreed a mandate on the proposal, the Council is ready to start negotiations with the European Parliament in order to agree on a final version of the texts.

Background

On 7 December 2022, the Commission put forward measures to alleviate – through a new listing act – the administrative burden for companies of all sizes, in particular SMEs, so that they can better access public capital market funding, without undermining market integrity and investor protection. The listing act package consists of:

• amending the prospectus regulation, market abuse regulation and the markets in financial instruments regulation
• amending the markets in financial instruments directive and repealing the listing directive
• a directive on multiple-vote shares

The proposal seeks to streamline the rules applicable to companies going through a listing process and companies already listed on EU public markets with an aim to simplify for the companies by alleviating their administrative burdens and costs, while preserving a sufficient degree of transparency, investor protection and market integrity.

On 19 April, the Council had already agreed its mandate on the directive on multiple-vote shares. Today it has finalised its mandate on the remaining two pieces of legislation.