Article 23 Power to restrict short selling of financial instruments temporarily in the case of a significant fall in price

1.  Where the price of a financial instrument on a trading venue has fallen significantly during a single trading day in relation to the closing price on that venue on the previous trading day, the competent authority of the home Member State for that venue shall consider whether it is appropriate to prohibit or restrict natural or legal persons from engaging in short selling of the financial instrument on that trading venue or otherwise limit transactions in that financial instrument on that trading venue in order to prevent a disorderly decline in the price of the financial instrument.

Where the competent authority is satisfied under the first subparagraph that it is appropriate to do so, it shall in the case of a share or a debt instrument, prohibit or restrict natural and legal persons from entering into a short sale on that trading venue or in the case of another type of financial instrument, limit transactions in that financial instrument on that trading venue in order to prevent a disorderly decline in the price of the financial instrument.

2.  The measure under paragraph 1 shall apply for a period not exceeding the end of the trading day following the trading day on which the fall in price occurs. If, at the end of the trading day following the trading day on which the fall in price occurs, there is, despite the measure being imposed, a further significant fall in value of at least half of the amount specified in paragraph 5 of the financial instrument from the closing price of the first trading day, the competent authority may extend the measure for a further period not exceeding 2 trading days after the end of the second trading day.
3.  The measure under paragraph 1 shall apply in circumstances or be subject to exceptions specified by the competent authority. Exceptions may in particular be specified to apply to market making activities and primary market activities.
4.  A competent authority of the home Member State of a venue where a financial instrument has during a single trading day fallen by the value referred to in paragraph 5 shall notify ESMA about the decision taken under paragraph 1 at the latest 2 hours after the end of that trading day. ESMA shall immediately inform the competent authorities of the home Member States of venues which trade the same financial instrument.

If a competent authority disagrees with the action taken by another competent authority on a financial instrument traded on different venues regulated by different competent authorities, ESMA may assist those authorities in reaching an agreement in accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.

The conciliation shall be completed before midnight at the end of the same trading day. If the competent authorities concerned fail to reach an agreement within the conciliation phase, ESMA may take a decision in accordance with Article 19(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. The decision shall be taken before the opening of the next trading day.

 
 
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5.  The fall in value shall be 10 % or more in the case of a liquid share, as defined in Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 1287/2006, and for illiquid shares and other classes of financial instruments an amount to be specified by the Commission.

6.  ESMA may issue and send to the Commission an opinion on adjusting the threshold referred to in paragraph 5, taking into account the developments in financial markets.

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 42 modifying the thresholds referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, taking into account the developments in financial markets.

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7.  The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 42 specifying what constitutes a significant fall in value for financial instruments other than liquid shares, taking into account the specificities of each class of financial instrument and the differences of volatility.

 
8.  In order to ensure consistent application of this Article, ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards specifying the method of calculation of the 10 % fall for liquid shares and of the fall in value specified by the Commission as referred to in paragraph 7.

ESMA shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission by 31 March 2012.

Power is delegated to the Commission to adopt the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.