European Union financial services update

In this month’s regular update on EU financial services we review the following: Prospectuses: European Commission presents an amended proposal for a Directive on prospectuses on 9 August 2002; Financial Services & Taxation Council: results of the Council of Economics and Finance Ministers Meeting on Financial Services and Taxation on 12 July 2002; Capital adequacy: significant progress on new Basel Capital Accord.

Robert Bell, Partner, Nabarro Nathanson, Lacon House, Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8RW; Tel: 020 7524 6000; e.mail: r.bell@nabarro.com

Prospectuses

The European Commission has presented an amended proposal for a Directive on Prospectuses that takes account of the European Parliament’s opinion on the original proposal put forward on 30 May 2001. The amended proposal aims to make it easier and cheaper for companies to raise capital in the EU. It also seeks to strengthen investor protection by guaranteeing that all prospectuses issued in the EU provide clear and comprehensive information, both financial and non-financial on which to base capital allocation decisions.