The European Securities and Markets Authority has published the annual market capitalisation figures and market capitalisation ratios for EU Member States for the 2024 and 2025 reference years. The release is the first use of ESMA’s mandate under the FASTER Directive and is intended to show each Member State’s position in the framework that links market size to withholding tax relief requirements. Under that framework, Member States whose market capitalisation exceeds 1.5% of total EU market capitalisation for four consecutive years are subject to specific requirements on withholding tax relief. Applying ESMA’s methodology, 12 Member States were above the 1.5% threshold in both 2024 and 2025: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg and Poland. ESMA said the calculations follow the related technical standards it developed, with securities that have fewer than 1,000 outstanding shares excluded from the aggregates. ESMA will continue to publish updated market capitalisation figures and ratios each year.
European Securities and Markets Authority2026-07-10
European Securities and Markets Authority publishes first FASTER Directive market capitalisation ratios and identifies 12 Member States above the 1.5 percent threshold in 2024 and 2025
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published EU Member State market capitalisation figures and ratios for 2024 and 2025 in the first implementation of its FASTER Directive mandate. The data supports the framework under which countries above 1.5% of total EU market capitalisation for four consecutive years face specific withholding tax relief requirements. Twelve Member States were above that threshold in both years.