The MiFIR reform aims to improve the functioning of the EU’s capital markets, by enhancing market data transparency and removing obstacles to the successful launch of consolidated data tapes. Consolidated tapes will bring together the prices and volumes of financial instruments, such as shares and bonds, from hundreds of trading venues across all Member States into a single stream of information, equally accessible for everybody. Addressing the fragmented EU trading landscape will enhance the competitiveness, integration and efficiency of EU financial markets and drive forward the Savings and investment union.
The MiFIR reform empowers ESMA and the Commission to develop various technical measures to ensure that the new MiFIR framework is fully operational. These measures will include rules to make sure that the consolidated tapes receive high quality data from market data contributors, which, in turn, ensures added value to the consolidation and dissemination of data. They will also include rules defining for how long publication of post-trade details for bonds and derivatives can be delayed – this will determine when this information becomes visible on the consolidated tape. To this end, the MiFIR reform requires ESMA and the Commission to request the advice of an expert stakeholder group established for that purpose.
In July 2024, the European Commission set up the Expert Stakeholder Group on equity and non-equity market data quality and transmission protocols (DEG), which brought together stakeholders with technical expertise on market data, following a call for applications. The DEG was tasked with providing advice to the Commission and to ESMA on (i) the quality and the substance of market data and the quality of the transmission protocols for the purpose of the operation of the consolidated tapes, (ii) the calibration of non-equity post-trade publication deferrals. The DEG was also tasked with providing information to the Commission and to ESMA on activities and good practices in the field of market data transparency.
On 17 October 2024 the DEG published reports outlining several recommendations, with the aim of making the consolidated tapes a success for the savings and investment union. These recommendations will feed into the work of ESMA and the Commission on the MiFIR implementing measures.
DEG in the register of Commission expert groups