European Banking Federation calls for rulebook simplification and an ESMA competitiveness objective in its preliminary response to the Market Integration Package

The European Banking Federation (EBF) published preliminary views on the European Commission’s Market Integration Package (MIP), supporting its goal of simplifying EU capital-markets rules and reducing fragmentation, while arguing that a functioning Savings and Investments Union will also require demand-side reforms to strengthen market participation. The EBF urged EU co-legislators to reduce unnecessary complexity, overlapping requirements and national gold-plating, and to progress toward a harmonised Single European Rulebook with clear and stable rules. It also called for appropriate sequencing to preserve regulatory stability, including stronger adherence to the Lamfalussy framework with a clearer separation between Level 1 political principles and Level 2 technical implementation, and Level 3 guidance remaining non-binding. On competitiveness and competition, the federation proposed adding a secondary competitiveness objective to the European Securities and Markets Authority’s mandate and advocated a clearer distinction between financial market infrastructures and other market participants, including separating infrastructures’ core functions from commercial activities and introducing measures to prevent monopoly pricing and cross-subsidisation. The EBF plans to refine its position and continue contributing to policy discussions in Brussels.