EU Council Sets Position on Capital Markets Supervision Package
The Council agreed key elements of its negotiating position on the market integration and supervision package, a centrepiece of the EU savings and investments union.
The story in focus
The Council of the EU agreed on 9 October 2026 the key elements of its negotiating position on the market integration and supervision package (MISP), which would shift supervision of the most significant cross-border trading and post-trading operators to ESMA. The position is not yet formally adopted.
- The Council agreed key elements of its position on the MISP package on 9 October 2026; formal adoption is still pending.
- Supervision of the most significant cross-border trading venues, central securities depositories and central counterparties would move to ESMA.
- The package is a centrepiece of the savings and investments union and part of the 'One Europe, One Market' agenda.
What the Council agreed
The Council agreed the key elements of its negotiating position on the market integration and supervision package, which it describes as the centrepiece of the EU savings and investments union. The position covers supervision, governance, asset management and technology measures. It is a political agreement that must still be finalised and formally adopted before talks with the European Parliament, which must first adopt its own position.
Under the agreed approach, supervision of the most significant cross-border trading venues and post-trading entities such as central securities depositories and central counterparties would transfer from national authorities to the European Securities and Markets Authority. The text refines the criteria for falling under ESMA supervision and requires the Commission to review those criteria after two years.
Governance and asset management changes
The Council's approach would create a new full-time ESMA executive board of a chair and five independent members to manage operations and take entity-specific decisions on directly supervised operators. A separate board of supervisors would remain ESMA's principal body for regulatory decisions, strategy, budget and supervisory convergence. A two-year transition period would see ESMA-led teams of EU and national experts handle the transfer of tasks.
For asset managers, the package includes simplification measures for intra-EU groups and a new optional 'depositary passport' letting funds appoint a depositary in another member state. The Council position also keeps focus on new technologies, broadening activity allowed under the distributed ledger technology pilot regime.
Next steps
The negotiating position will be finalised in line with the political agreement ahead of formal Council adoption. Negotiations with the European Parliament can begin once it adopts its own position, with the aim of a timely agreement under the 'One Europe, One Market' roadmap. The Council cites an estimated 10 trillion euros of household savings held in low-yield bank deposits as context for the package.
Has the Council's position on the MISP package become law?
No. The Council agreed the key elements of its negotiating position on 9 October 2026. The position must still be finalised and formally adopted, and negotiations with the European Parliament can begin only after it adopts its own position.
Sources & further reading
- Savings and investments union: Council agrees key elements of crucial measures to deepen EU capital markets ↗consilium.europa.eu
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