Update: REMIT implementation more than one year overdue

Eddie Van Der Walt

29-Oct-2014

Several countries have confirmed that they have not yet fully implemented European Commission legislation aimed at curbing insider trading in gas and energy markets more than a year after the deadline for doing so had passed.

The EU regulation on wholesale energy markets integrity and transparency (REMIT) was due to be transcribed to law in 26 countries by 29 June 2013, but in an ICIS survey a fifth confirmed that they had not yet done so.

A total of 15 countries responded, with three – Italy, Croatia and Luxembourg – confirming that the legislation had as yet only been partially transposed, while some of those who have not yet responded were also thought not to have completed the process.

In Italy, while laws to implement REMIT have recently been passed, these have not yet been officially published. The laws are expected to be published within days.

The other two countries were not able to give a definitive answer for when the process would be completed.

Countries that did not respond include Hungary, Romania, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Germany and Denmark.

Sources told ICIS that Ireland – another country that did not respond – have also yet to complete the process.

The source said that it was currently out of the regulators’ hands, as it was being dealt with by the government – but that the government had other priorities of higher importance than implementing REMIT.

Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Lithuania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and The Netherlands all confirmed that the process had been completed, while the UK is widely believed to also have completed its implementation.

The Council for European Energy Regulators (CEER) did not respond to requests for information by the time of publication.

But in September, CEER said that while “a majority of member states have completed” articles 13 and 18 of the act as required, “the legislation process is ongoing in almost all remaining countries where the implementation … is not yet fully achieved”.

Under these two articles, countries are required to ensure that their national regulatory authorities have the investigatory and enforcement powers necessary to prohibit insider trading and to enforce the publication of inside information.

REMIT consultant Aviv Handler expressed his surprise at the large proportion of respondents that have not yet completed the process.

“One only has to look at the reason why these acts have to be implemented. It is to ensure that national legislators have the powers to prevent and punish acts of transgression. But if a country had not yet implemented and a large insider trade is uncovered, it may lead to considerable embarrassment if laws are not in place to deal with it.”

Documents published on 27 October also indicated that there had been concerns over the quality of the translation of the act into certain languages. Eddie van der Walt

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