European Parliament considers a uniform prospectus for Europe

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16 Aug 2002

The European Commission has presented to Parliament an amended proposal for a uniform prospectus to be used for securities offerings throughout Europe – a 'single passport' to all of the European capital markets.

Once the proposal becomes law (a Directive), then a prospectus approved by securities authorities in one member state must be accepted in all other states. The proposal sets out the minimum content for a prospectus and how it should be presented, based on Disclosure Standards adopted in 1998 by IOSCO. Required disclosures would include key information on risk factors, related-party transactions, corporate governance, and management's discussion and analysis, none of which is currently required by the existing EU Directive on prospectuses. The specific financial statements, periods covered by them, and other information of a financial nature to be included in prospectuses will be established by EC regulation within 180 days of adoption of the proposed Directive. The EC's goal is final approval of the Directive by the end of 2002. Click for:

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