EC sides with big energy companies in Mifid II spat

European Commission urges Esma to restore ‘capital employed’ test, citing concerns that asset-heavy energy companies and industrials may be caught in new regulations

European Commission rejects draft rules that riled energy industry

The European Commission (EC) has come down on the side of large energy and commodities companies in a dispute over whether such firms should be covered by the new Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, or Mifid II, Risk.net has learned.

In a March 14 letter, a top EC official urged the Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) to overhaul a key section of its draft Mifid II rules, called the ‘ancillary business test’, that determines whether non-financial firms that trade