On 4 February 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its regulatory work programme (RWP) for 2019.

The RWP lists all the technical standards and technical advice that ESMA has been mandated to draft over the coming year, and these are set out under the appropriate legislation. Work for the coming year includes:

  • regulatory technical standards for EMIR risk management techniques for over-the-counter derivatives not cleared in relation to intragroup and equity options;
  • technical advice on position limits under Article 90(1) of MiFID II; and
  • amendments to MiFID RTS 2 on bond market liquidity and size specific to the instrument thresholds.

The RWP has three annexes:

  • Annex I lists the mandates for technical standards and technical advice that are contained within legislative proposals. ESMA will begin work on these mandates once the legislation has been adopted;
  • Annex II gives the full references for legislation currently in force that is referred to in the RWP; and
  • Annex III gives full references for legislative proposals that have not yet been adopted.