ESMA publishes latest Spotlight on Markets newsletter featuring updates on market integration and transparency
Executive Summary
ESMA's latest *Spotlight on Markets* newsletter (November/December 2025 issue, published 23 December 2025) summarizes key regulatory updates on EU market integration, transparency enhancements, and supervisory actions, including welcoming the European Commission's market integration proposal and announcing an equity consolidated tape provider (CTP) selection. This matters for compliance professionals as it signals accelerating EU efforts to deepen capital markets integration, improve data transparency, and strengthen oversight under MiFID II and DORA, potentially requiring firms to adapt governance, reporting, and conflict management practices. #
What Changed
- ESMA welcomes the European Commission's 4 December 2025 legislative package on market integration, emphasizing robust governance and market infrastructure for deeper EU capital markets. - Announcement of selected applicant for the equity consolidated tape provider (CTP), advancing MiFIR transparency for equity markets by improving post-trade data consolidation and access. - Publication of ESMA's final report on Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) for non-equity transparency, clarifying pre- and post-trade transparency rules for bonds, derivatives, and other non-equity instruments under MiFIR. - Launch of a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) on MiFID II conflicts of interest requirements to promote supervisory convergence and governance across Member States. - European Supervisory Authoriti
What You Need To Do
- Review the final non-equity transparency RTS and assess impacts on trading and reporting systems for compliance by any upcoming application dates (not specified)
- Evaluate MiFID II conflicts of interest policies in preparation for the CSA; conduct internal audits and enhance training/staff attestations on identification and mitigation
- Monitor equity CTP rollout for changes to post-trade data access and costs; update vendor contracts if applicable
- For DORA-impacted firms, map exposures to designated critical ICT providers and strengthen due diligence, contractual clauses, and exit strategies
- Asset managers
- Track the Commission's market integration package via ESMA updates, preparing for potential ESMA-led supervision enhancements
Key Dates
Compliance Impact
Urgency: Medium - The newsletter highlights finalized standards (e.g., RTS, CTP) and imminent actions (e.g., CSA, DORA designations) that require proactive preparation, but lacks hard deadlines or immediate mandates. It matters because it previews intensified supervision on transparency, conflicts, and resilience, aligning with EU Capital Markets Union goals; firms delaying reviews risk findings i
Who is Affected
Summary
ESMA publishes latest Spotlight on Markets newsletter featuring updates on market integration and transparency 23 December 2025 ESMA newsletter The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has today published the latest edition of its Spotlight on Markets newsletter. This edition opens with ESMA welcoming the European Commission’s ambitious proposal on market integration, underlining the importance of deeper, more integrated and ef...