On 1 March 2023, the European Parliament announced that MEPs had voted for changes to MiFID II and MiFIR. Among other things the changes cover data quality standards and investor protection, changes regarding market data consolidation and transparency as well as provisions on payment for order flow.
The press release notes that:
- MEPs supported an EU-wide consolidated tape.
- MEPs proposed that retail investors, academics and civil society organisations using data for research purposes as well as public authorities should have access to the consolidated tape free of charge.
- MEPs approved changes to the current rules on the transparency rules applicable under MiFIR. The text clarifies and simplifies the limitations on trading without pre-trade transparency (the so-called ‘dark trading’) by establishing a single volume cap that limits the amount of dark trading in an equity instrument in the EU to 7% of total trading in that instrument.
- MEPs modified the deferral times applicable to the publication of the details of transactions in bonds, structured products, emission allowances and derivatives.
- MEPs supported the EU prohibition of receiving payments for forwarding client orders for execution (payment for order flows).
