European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR)

The regulation aims to promote market stability and transparency by regulating:

• Clearing of derivatives through a central counterparty (CCP).
• Licence requirement for CCPs.
• Collateral requirements and transferability of positions.

The AFM and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) together monitor compliance with EMIR. The division of supervisory tasks is described on the page Supervision .

As from 18 June 2019, the AFM is also the supervisor of the ‘Fair, Reasonable, And Non-Discriminatory and Transparent commercial terms’ (FRANDT) provision. The provision concerns the obligation of clearing service providers to provide these services on commercial terms that are considered fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory and transparent (FRANDT). This principle is intended to facilitate access to clearing, especially for parties with a limited trading volume in derivatives who have difficulty accessing Clearing Members (directly or indirectly).

Main implications and obligations

EMIR has implications for financial companies. Two of the most important changes are mandatory central clearing and reporting of derivative transactions.

EMIR also has implications for non-financial companies. The most important are the reporting of (OTC) derivative transactions to a Trade Repository and the requirements for bilateral clearing.

EMIR Refit

EMIR is continuously evaluated and updated to developments in the derivatives market. For example, the European Commission amended EMIR in 2022 to bring the regulations in line with the latest market developments. These amendments, known as EMIR Refit, apply to all parties involved in derivatives trading.

EMIR is thus an important regulation for the supervision of derivatives markets, which is continuously evaluated and adapted to ensure financial stability, transparency and efficiency. From a supervisory perspective, it is essential to stay informed of the changes to EMIR and their impact on market participants. ESMA provides various resources for this purpose, such as guidelines, technical standards, questions and answers, opinions and reports, which can be found on the ESMA website.