European Union opt-in decision: Prospectus Regulation

Statement

This government has decided not to opt in to the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) provision within the European Commission’s “Proposal for a Regulation on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading”.

Article 31(1) of the proposal requires that where Member States have chosen to pursue a criminal sanctions regime for breaches of elements of the proposals, those Member States must ensure that information can be shared between competent authorities across the EU. As the provision requires cooperation involving law enforcement bodies, the Government believes these are JHA obligations and therefore our JHA opt-in is triggered. The government will inform the Council of its decision not to exercise its right to opt in to the relevant provision.

The government has decided not to opt in to these provisions as there are no significant benefits to be gained from doing so. The obligation to share information will fall on Member States who have a relevant criminal sanctions regime, and UK competent authorities will be in a position to access this data irrespective of the decision to opt in. The government has no intention to introduce a criminal sanctions regime in a way that would lead to this Regulation imposing an obligation on the UK or on our competent authorities.