On 30 March 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its final report containing draft amendments to the regulatory technical standards (RTS) incorporated in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 876/2013 on colleges for central counterparties (the Delegated Regulation).

The Delegated Regulation has been developed by ESMA and adopted by the European Commission in accordance with Article 18(6) of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The proposed amendments reflect the amendments to EMIR introduced by EMIR 2.2. The proposed amendments are limited in scope. They concern only competent authorities and do not impose any additional requirements on market participants.

The proposed draft amendments concern the practical arrangements for the functioning of the college with regard to: voting procedures, the procedures for setting the agenda of college meetings, review and evaluation of the arrangements, strategies, processes and mechanisms implemented by the central counterparty (CCP) and the risks to which the CCP is exposed, the minimum timeframes for the assessment of the relevant documentation by the college members and the modalities of communication between college members.

The final report will be sent to the Commission, and ESMA is submitting the draft amendments to the Delegated Regulation presented in the Annex II for endorsement in the form of a Commission Delegated Regulation. Following the endorsement, they are then subject to non-objection by the European Parliament and the Council.