The European Commission has published a Green Paper on building a Capital Markets Union (CMU).

The CMU is intended to break down certain barriers that the Commission feels are blocking cross-border investments in the EU and preventing businesses from getting access to finance. The purpose of the Green Paper is to kick-start a debate across the EU over the possible measures needed to create a single market for capital. The deadline for comments on the Green Paper is 13 May 2015. Following the consultation, the Commission will adopt an Action Plan this summer setting out a roadmap and timeline for putting in place the building blocks of a CMU by 2019.

The Commission has also published two complementary consultations on “high-quality” securitisation and the Prospectus Directive (PD). A key focus of the Commission’s consultation on the PD is to reduce the administrative hoops through which companies have to jump. The consultation focuses on, amongst other things, ways to simplify the information included in prospectuses, examines when a prospectus is necessary and when it is not and how to streamline the approval process.

The Commission considers the consultation on securitisation to be a first step towards a possible initiative on creating an EU framework for simple, transparent and standardised securitisation. Its purpose is to gather information and views from stakeholders on the current functioning of EU securitisation markets and how the EU legal framework can be improved to create a sustainable market for high-quality securitisation. On the basis of the feedback received, the Commission will reflect on how to reach that objective.

The deadline for comments on the two consultation papers is 13 May 2015.

View Unlocking Funding for Europe’s Growth – European Commission consults on Capital Markets Union, 18 February 2015