Paris: ESMA direct supervision would cover fewer markets than the Commission wanted under the Council position on the market integration and supervision package. Finance ministers agreed the key elements of their negotiating position on 9 October 2026, after nine months of talks on the proposals the Commission presented on 4 December 2025. The negotiating texts have not been published, so the details come from law firm and press reports.

The compromise keeps the core of the plan. Significant central counterparties and central securities depositories would move to ESMA direct supervision, which gives the Paris-based authority control over the infrastructure that clears and settles trades. Only the most significant cross-border trading venues would follow, and Regulation Tomorrow notes that this point was contentious among member states.

Crypto shows the narrowing most clearly. The Commission had proposed ESMA as the sole supervisor of all crypto-asset service providers. Under the Council position, only the most significant providers would fall under ESMA direct supervision, and national authorities would keep the rest.

Governance changes are modest. Ministers support an executive board at ESMA, but the board of supervisors, where national authorities sit, remains the main decision-making body. The compromise also includes a two-year transitional period, according to Regulation Tomorrow. Neither report gives the trading thresholds that would decide which venues qualify.

The package aims to move the Union closer to a true capital markets union. Supporters argue that a single supervisor for large cross-border infrastructure would cut duplication and cost for firms that operate in many countries. Opponents fear that moving supervision to ESMA could weaken national authorities and concentrate power in one agency.

The Parliament shapes the next step. The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee was expected to adopt its position on 1 November 2026, and the reports reviewed do not confirm whether that vote took place. After that, the Council and Parliament can open trilogue talks to settle the gap between their texts.

Press reports say smaller member states criticised the criteria as favouring the largest economies. Firms that operate across borders hope that ESMA direct supervision would replace several national reviews with a single one, while smaller markets fear losing influence.

For banks, exchanges and crypto firms, the debate decides who supervises them for the next decade. ESMA direct supervision will cover the biggest names, and the Council’s thresholds will determine how many fall inside that line. The trilogues will show whether Parliament accepts a narrower scope or pushes to widen it.