"Equivalent" does not always mean the same - remarks on the ground of the new financial instruments' definition
- Category: MiFID
Commission Delegated Regulation of 25.4.2016 implementing MiFID II represents the coup de grâce for the hotly-debated topic of equivalency as the criterion for the differentiation of forward contracts being financial instruments from other physically settled OTC derivatives.
This step change from purely formal criterion based on the literal wording of the contract to the objective metric dependent only on verifiable trading data seems, however, as it stands, unworkable for legal practitioners.
Systematic internalisers thresholds for emission allowances and emission derivatives determined in the MiFID II delegated Regulation
- Category: MiFID
As you certainly know emission allowances and emission derivatives are the asset classes for which - as from the MiFID II entry into force (3 January 2018) - the systematic internalisers' thresholds must be counted.
Numerical values of these thresholds became clear on 25 April 2016.
Back office alert - OTC contract admitted to trading at the organised market place
- Category: REMIT
Do you still deliberate how often the list of organised markets must be checked?
World of thresholds
- Category: Emissions trading
Every self-respecting EU legislative act must possess its own numerical thresholds, each of them of critical importance.
In order not to be monotonous, let's mention only few of them: MiFID II ancillary exemption threshold, EMIR collateral threshold, clearing threshold.
In this context it should not surprise anybody, the new Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) also operates with this technique, and what is particularly interesting for this website, MAR thresholds influence heavily emissions market.
ACER Code - a universal pass to the EU energy market?
- Category: REMIT
Is it formally correct to conclude a contract in the wholesale energy market with the counterparty that has not registered in the European Registry of Energy Market Participants and, consequently, does not have the ACER Registration Code?
Final customers' REMIT reporting - D-Day 7 April 2016
- Category: REMIT
The scope for final customers reporting under the REMIT Regulation occurs much more extensive than anyone could so far expect.
How do you report trades based on index under REMIT?
- Category: REMIT
Under the REMIT reporting scheme trades based on index may, theoretically, be reported in two alternative ways.
EFET master agreements' reporting under REMIT - everything clear?
- Category: REMIT
Are EFET master agreements reportable under REMIT? ACER's recent interpretations create confusion in the market.
Inside information on the carbon market - time to build expertise
- Category: MAD/MAR
I'm sure your company has in place documented systems and procedures to conduct - with due diligence - assessments, which of your emissions data will have the potential to influence on the market price of carbon (or that the said impact is, for example, negligible).
No? But, obviously, you have already verified whether your company exceeded, at the group level, the threshold of 6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year or a rated thermal input of 2,430 MW. Not true? I don't believe it!
If, neglecting the above issues, you're counting on the fact that your company is already publishing inside information under the REMIT Regulation, this misunderstanding may have severe consequences.
Second chance to exclude small installations from the EU ETS
- Category: Emissions trading
8 countries only (DE, ES, FR, HR, IS, IT, SI, UK) use the possibility to exclude small installations and hospitals from the EU ETS in in third trading period (2013-2020).
This may appear surprising, given heavy criticism sometimes targeted on multiple EU ETS bureaucratic requirements.
The draft Directive, however, gives those absent the second chance to revise their carbon politics and, consequently, to update lists of excluded installations or, even - for Member States currently not making use of this option - to do so at the beginning of each trading period.
Hence, the implementation of new politics in this regard can start as from 2021.
EU ETS New Entrant Reserve - oversized?
- Category: Emissions trading
Serious concerns that New Entrant Reserve (NER) will be used-up early and not sufficient to cover the needs of new entrants to the EU ETS, as well as installations' capacity increases, occur not to materialise.
NER is governed by the rule "first come, first served", hence the threat was, in principle, grounded.
However, as follows from data published recently by the European Commission, until July 2015, only 91.3 million allowances have been reserved for 369 installations for the entirety of phase 3 (i.e. untill 2020) and expectations are a significant number of allowances from the NER will remain unallocated.
Permanent/occasional trade character decisive for RRM designation in complex delegation chains
- Category: REMIT
Establishing circumstances where the RRM designation by the wholesale energy market participant is required, and where it is not, is almost entirely governed by ACER's frequently changing interpretations.
This is not a comfortable situation from legal certainty point of view. If these interpretations were a little bit clearer...