The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today included twenty-five new Q&As relating to Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the ‘Prospectus Regulation’).
Three of these Q&As provide clarification on the following issues in relation to the Prospectus Regulation:
- The application of Article 23(3) of the Prospectus Regulation in relation to issuers that qualify as financial intermediaries.
- Continuing an offer which has initially been made using a base prospectus approved under the Prospectus Directive after the entry into application of the Prospectus Regulation.
Additionally, ESMA is publishing twenty-two Q&As that have been updated in relation to the Prospectus Regulation. These Q&As were originally published in relation to Directive 2003/71/EC (the ‘Prospectus Directive’). ESMA has also decided not to update twenty-eight Q&As that were published in relation to the Prospectus Directive. These Q&As will not be carried over into the Q&As published in relation to the Prospectus Regulation.
ESMA will continue going through the existing Q&As published in relation to the Prospectus Directive. These Q&As will either be updated and carried forward in the Q&As relating to the Prospectus Regulation or will not be carried over, which means that the Q&A will not be published in relation to the Prospectus Regulation. For example, this will be the case if a Q&A is no longer necessary because the Prospectus Regulation sufficiently clarifies an issue or ESMA considers that the market already is aware of how a particular issue should be addressed.
ESMA will continue to publish the existing Q&As relating to the Prospectus Directive during the period in which prospectuses approved under the Prospectus Directive are still valid, which is until 21 July 2020. After this period, these Q&As will no longer apply.
The purpose of these Q&As is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of prospectus supervision. These Q&As are also intended to facilitate market parties by providing guidance as to how national competent authorities will interpret the Prospectus Regulation.