On June 29, 2016, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation supplementing the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (“MiFIR”) with regard to RTS specifying the obligation to clear derivatives traded on regulated markets and timing of acceptance for clearing.

Under Article 29, ESMA was required to develop draft RTS to specify the requirements to ensure that cleared derivative transactions concluded on a trading venue or on a bilateral basis are submitted and accepted for clearing as quickly as technologically practicable using automated systems in order to facilitate clearing and trading certainty. The Commission’s Delegated Regulation is based on the draft RTS submitted by ESMA to the Commission in September 2015.

The RTS lay down requirements for the transfer of information, pre-trade checks and timeframes for the transfer of such information for cleared derivative transactions concluded either on a trading venue or on a bilateral basis. It also provides rules on the treatment of cleared derivative transactions which are not accepted for clearing by the CCP.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament will consider the Delegated Regulation and if neither of them objects, it will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the OJ. It will apply from the date appearing in the second paragraph of Article 55 of MiFIR.