ESMA releases statement concerning the applicability of Level 3 guidance under the Prospectus Directive

The public statement contains an update of the status of the Q&As and the CESR recommendations relating to specialist issuers.

Q&As

In the news item published on 12 July 2019, ESMA explained that Q&As published under the Prospectus Directive would no longer apply as of 21 July 2020, because ESMA expected to have updated those Q&As by that date. However, the Q&A revision work was placed on hold because of changes introduced to the Q&A process under the new ESMA Regulation. More information here.

The statement explains that the Q&A revision work has now been resumed. A status update is provided regarding the Q&As that will be revised or deleted. Furthermore, ESMA also provides a breakdown of Q&As which have been identified for revision by either the European Commission or ESMA subject to the new Q&A procedure.

CESR Recommendations on specialist issuers

The CESR recommendations on specialist issuers were not included in ESMA’s recent Guidelines on disclosure requirements under the Prospectus Regulation. To clarify their status and applicability, the statement explains that the CESR Recommendations have not been rescinded and recommends that issuers apply them.  

Next steps:

ESMA will continue working on Q&As which it was allocated in accordance with the new Q&A procedure. Additionally, ESMA will transfer the Q&As which were determined as interpreting EU Law to the European Commission.

Once the revision of the Q&As has been completed, ESMA will add them to the Q&A document which includes Q&As under the Prospectus Regulation.