EU finance ministers agreed in Luxembourg on the Market Integration and
Supervision Package (MISP) after a decade-long effort, moving supervisory and
enforcement powers toward Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority
(ESMA). The main dispute concerned which firms would be deemed “significant” for
direct ESMA oversight and which could be exempted, with a small number of large
operators such as Deutsche Börse Group explicitly in scope of the debate;
Ireland, holding the EU rotating presidency, proposed a compromise. The package
still requires agreement with the European Parliament in the coming months. Some
member states and the European Commission raised objections; the EU financial
services commissioner said the compromise weakens governance, introduces
“unnecessary complexity” and risks making ESMA “costly and cumbersome.”
