The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to briefly overview the evolution of European (EU) Capital Markets Law, from its origins in the late-1970ies until today, in the context of the currently developing Savings and Investment Union (SIU); and second, to identify missing elements, in particular in relation to the centralisation, at EU level, of supervisory tasks and powers in this sector of the EU financial system. It is structured in 6 Sections: 

Section A contains a definition of EU capital markets law and a brief overview of its evolution in four periods. The first three periods, until the outbreak of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2007, including both institutional and regulatory developments, are then discussed in Section B. The focus of the following three Sections C-E turns to the fourth period in the evolution of this branch of EU financial law: Section C overviews developments therein in the wake of the GFC, with specific emphasis on the establishment of the European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS) – including the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), as the institutional response to that crisis, and the further – and significant – enhancement of the regulatory framework; Section D discusses the foundation of the Capital Markets Union (CMU), from the 2015 to the 2020 CMU Action Plans of the European Commission and their implementation, up to the retail investment strategy (RIS) and the 2024 “EU Listing Act”; and Section E develops on the current migration to the SIU, taking into account the proposals submitted (inter alia) in the 2024 Draghi Report, and then briefly presenting the key elements of the European Commission’s December 2025 market integration package (MIP).

Section F concludes with a brief assessment of the CMU project so far and of the ESMA’s direct supervisory powers, including a modest proposal towards further enhancing them beyond the legislative proposals included in the MIP.

Selected case-law of EU Courts is briefly discussed, as appropriate.

Read the entire article here: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6689178 or here: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6689178.