Yesterday the final texts of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive were published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The texts consist of two legislative instruments, a revised directive (MiFID II) and a directly applicable regulation (MiFIR) (together hereinafter referred to as “MiFID II”). MiFID II will enter into force beginning of July 2014. MiFID II will be effective as from January 2017, but the directive will have to be enacted into Luxembourg law by June 2016 at the latest. A number of aspects of MiFID II will have to be further specified in “level 2” delegated and implementing acts as well as technical standards. On 24 April 2014, the European Commission sought ESMA’s technical advice on several aspects of MiFID II in view of possible delegated acts . The “level 2” texts are expected to be adopted by the European Commission by June 2015. MiFID II is interrelated with other recent legislative acts and proposals, eg., CRD IV, EMIR, UCITS V, PRIPS, AIFMD and IMD. It aims at establishing a safer, sounder, more transparent and more responsible financial system by extending market transparency, improving competition in trading and clearing of financial instruments, moving organised trading to multilateral and regulated platforms, adapting rules to technological developments, strengthening investor protection, providing partially harmonised rules for the access of third country firms to the EU market as well as ensuring harmonised administrative sanctions and effective cooperation between authorities. The newsflash reflects the status of MiFID II as of 13 May 2014 and only aims at presenting the key aspects of MiFID II with respect to credit institutions providing investment services or performing investment activities and investment firms (both referred to as “Firms” in the newsflash). To read the full newsflash, please click on the link below