Feedback on the proposed repeal of the Listing Directive

The European Commission’s Work Programme for 2019 sets out that the Directive on the admission of securities to official stock exchange listing and on information to be published on those securities (Listing Directive) can be repealed. Whilst we acknowledge that the Listing Directive varies across European markets, it remains extremely important in those markets where it is applied.

The proposed repeal of the Listing Directive may seem like a simple tidy up exercise, but it could be damaging for EU markets and investors operating within these markets. The Listing Directive, the Prospectus Regulation, MiFID II, and the Transparency Directive all have distinct objectives and contribute to safeguarding market integrity and enhancing investor protection in different ways. For example, the Listing Directive focuses on suitability for listing (i.e. conditions that must be satisfied prior to ‘listing’ being approved), so the objective is very different to the Prospectus Regulation which relates to disclosure. Therefore, instead of the proposed repeal, we believe it would be worthwhile for the Commission to make clear how the four pieces of legislation fit together given their importance in the securities legislative framework.