The European Union's landmark post-crisis overhaul of its financial market rules is on course to be delayed after the EU commission said that technical challenges mean that the measures may have to be pushed back by as much as a year.
Martin Merlin, a director in the Commission's financial services department, told EU lawmakers this morning that the institution's "preliminary view at technical level is indeed that a delay is needed'' to the planned Jauary 2017 start date writes the FT's Jim Brunsden.
"Maybe the simplest and most legally sound approach would be to delay the whole package for one year,'' Mr Merlin said at a hearing of the EU parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee.
The Commission stance backs warnings from the European Securities and Markets Authority, an agency which brings together national regulators from across the EU, that time is running short to develop IT systems integral to key parts of the rules.
Steven Maijoor, ESMA's chairman, told the same hearing that "the timetable for stakeholders and regulators alike to implement the rules and build the necessary IT systems is extremely tight. There are areas where the calendar is already not feasible.''