The Market Abuse Directive came into effect on 12 October 2004. In the event of a person manipulating a market, the Directive (2003/6/EC in Article 1 (5)) provides a defense if the transaction was legitimate and in accordance with market practices accepted by the competent authority – these are often referred to as ‘Accepted Market Practices’ (AMPs).

The decision to accept any given market practice as an AMP applies only to the practice in question in relation to a specific national market. This reflects the fact that the characteristics of each market may differ and as such, a particular practice may well be appropriate for one market but inappropriate for another where the conditions (such as the market size etc.) differ.

Article 2 of Directive 2004/72/EC implementing the Market Abuse Directive describes the non-exhaustive factors that a competent authority should take into account before deciding whether or not to accept a market practice. Article 3 of Directive 2004/72/EC sets out the process that the competent authority must follow in accepting any given market practice. The competent authority must in particular consult as appropriate relevant bodies such as representatives of issuers, financial services providers, consumers, other authorities and market operators before officially accepting an AMP.

To increase transparency and in accordance with ESMA’s obligations set out in the Directive 2004/72/EC, those AMPs which have been accepted by a national authority can be found below in the section Documents.