European Code of Conduct
On 7 November 2006, Charlie McCreevy, the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, welcomed the adoption of the new European Code of Conduct by the clearing and settlement services sector and confirmed that this was a significant milestone on the road to an integrated and efficient post-transaction market in the European Union.
The Code of Conduct has been signed by the members of the three largest representative bodies of the clearing and settlement sector: The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE), the European Association of Central Counterparty Clearing Houses (EACH) and the European Central Securities Depository Association (ECSDA).
The undersigning exchanges, clearing houses and central counterparties as well as central securities depositories share the objective of achieving greater efficiency and further intergration of European capital markets.
The objective of the Code of Conduct – in line with the objectives of the European Commission – is therefore to allow investors to trade European securities within a consistent, coherent and cost-efficient European framework.
The principles of the Code cover three main areas:
1. Transparency of pricing and services,
2. Access and interoperability,
3. Service unbundling and account separation.
