The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has responded to a letter it received last week from the European Commission on certain aspects of ESMA's draft MiFID II rules.

In the reply addressed to Olivier Guersent, Director General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, ESMA's Chair Steven Maijoor notes that the deadline for the Commission to decide whether to endorse the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on MiFID II was at the end of 2015. However, he acknowledges that this is “an exceptional case” and that ESMA is committed to a timely implementation of MiFID II.

He refers to MiFID as “a complex and extraordinary project” and underlines the importance of creating legal certainty as soon as possible, with a clear basis for the implementation work of MiFID II to start.

With that end in mind, ESMA states clearly that it expects the Commission to endorse the draft RTS once the amendments have been made and that it doesn't expect the Commission to make further changes or amendments to the draft.

Last month, it was announced that MiFID II would be delayed until January 2018.