EU finance ministers strike preliminary deal to centralize markets oversight under ESMA
Key Summary
EU finance ministers reached a preliminary agreement to centralize markets oversight under the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), with ESMA to directly supervise major trading venues, post-trading infrastructures, and crypto-asset service providers. The deal aims to build a Savings and Investments Union and bring EU supervisory practice closer to the US model. However, the European Commission criticized the deal as lacking ambition and diluting essential governance rules.
EU finance ministers strike preliminary deal to centralize markets oversight under ESMA
EU Finance Ministers Reach Preliminary Deal on Markets Oversight
EU finance ministers reached a preliminary political agreement on October 9, 2026, to shift oversight of major cross-border financial players to a single European regulator. The plan is called the Markets Integration and Supervision Package, or MISP.
What's in the Deal?
Under the agreement, ESMA would directly supervise about eight major trading venues and select post-trading infrastructures. The crypto piece is notable. ESMA would take direct oversight of 10-15 crypto-asset service providers, out of an estimated 360 operating in the bloc.
The Bigger Picture
The MISP is part of the EU's effort to build a Savings and Investments Union. The idea is to get capital moving more freely across member states, so companies can tap investors anywhere in the bloc rather than mostly at home.
Criticism from the European Commission
The European Commission did not greet the outcome warmly. It criticized the deal as lacking ambition and said the compromise falls short of enabling effective supervision by ESMA.
Next Steps
The deal is not final. Negotiations now move to the European Parliament, with the aim of finalizing the agreement by year-end. Lawmakers could push to widen ESMA's remit, keep the current scope, or reopen sensitive points like the Deutsche Börse exemption.