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ESMA

ESMA

European Securities and Markets Authority

Medium Impact

ESMA publishes interim assessment of EMIR 3 Active Account Requirement effectiveness

Published

Jul 6, 2026

Topics

EMIR 3, Active Account Requirement, Central clearing, EU CCPs, Tier 2 third-country CCPs, OTC interest rate derivatives, Short-term interest rate derivatives, Regulatory reporting, Financial stability

Executive Summary

ESMA has published an interim report on the effectiveness of the EMIR 3 Active Account Requirement (AAR), prepared with the ESCB and ESRB and after consulting the Joint Monitoring Mechanism. The report does not introduce new obligations or final policy recommendations. Instead, it confirms that AAR implementation is still bedding in and that the evidence base is incomplete because AAR reporting data will only become available gradually from the second half of 2026, with a first complete data set expected in January 2027. ESMA’s preliminary findings show around 500 notifying entities as of February 2026, broad Member State coverage, and increased account openings at EU CCPs during 2025. EU clearing activity has risen modestly in some relevant products, but Tier 2 CCPs continue to dominate key segments and EU exposures remain material. ESMA will now develop and publish an assessment methodology, may issue a targeted data request by end-2026, and plans a comprehensive effectiveness report in 2027, potentially including complementary measures.

What Changed

newInterim AAR effectiveness findings published

Previous

No ESMA effectiveness assessment findings were available after EMIR 3 entered into force.

New

Preliminary findings indicate smoother account opening, around 500 notifications by February 2026, modest EU clearing uptake, and continued high reliance on Tier 2 CCPs.

newTwo-step effectiveness assessment confirmed

Previous

The market had the Article 7a(10) mandate but limited visibility on ESMA’s assessment sequencing.

New

ESMA will develop a methodology in 2026 and plans to submit a comprehensive AAR effectiveness report to the European Parliament, Council and Commission in 2027.

newPotential targeted data request signalled

Previous

Existing EMIR data, notifications and supervisory data were the main available sources, with recognised gaps in account-level and risk exposure information.

New

A targeted data request may be finalised and issued by end-2026 after the methodology is completed and published.

modifiedData expectations for AAR assessment clarified

Previous

Current EMIR data lacked account-level granularity and did not fully capture third-country subsidiaries of EU groups.

New

AAR reporting data are expected to become available gradually in the second half of 2026, with a first complete data set expected in January 2027.

newPossible complementary measures remain open

Previous

No preliminary ESMA assessment of complementary measures had been published through this interim report process.

New

ESMA will consider possible complementary measures in the methodology and final assessment, without prejudging the outcome.

Business Impact

Who is affected

Directly affected

EU financial and non-financial counterparties subject to the EMIR clearing obligation that meet the AAR conditions for EUR or PLN OTC interest rate derivatives or EUR short-term interest rate derivatives cleared at services of substantial systemic importance.

Indirectly affected

EU CCPs, Tier 2 third-country CCPs, clearing members, clients, treasury and collateral teams, regulatory reporting teams, risk management, compliance, legal, operations and market infrastructure vendors supporting clearing workflows.

Jurisdictions

European Union, European Economic Area, EU Member States through NCAs supervising AAR compliance

Business processes

AAR applicability assessment and notification governance, EU CCP account opening and account activity controls, Representativeness obligation monitoring, AAR reporting preparation and submission to competent authorities, Clearing venue selection and execution controls, Initial margin, risk exposure and concentration monitoring, Management information for EU versus Tier 2 CCP clearing activity

Estimated effort

Medium

Compliance risk

Medium

Affected Reports

AAR applicability notifications to ESMA and national competent authoritiesAAR reporting template submissions to competent authoritiesRepresentativeness obligation evidence and monitoring controlEU CCP active account opening and account-usage controlClearing-location and risk exposure management information for EU CCPs versus Tier 2 CCPs
FieldValidation rule
AAR notification statusESMA’s interim report tracks entities that notified ESMA and NCAs that they are subject to the AAR; firms should maintain evidence supporting whether they are in or out of scope.
Representativeness threshold statusThe report states that entities with cleared positions in AAR-related products above EUR 6 billion must meet the representativeness obligation; firms should evidence threshold calculations and status.
CCP location for AAR-relevant clearingESMA’s monitoring framework compares clearing activity at EU CCPs and Tier 2 CCPs, so internal MI should identify CCP location consistently.
AAR-relevant product and currencyThe report focuses on EUR and PLN OTC interest rate derivatives and EUR-denominated STIR products cleared at services of substantial systemic importance.
Group structure and third-country subsidiary positionsESMA identifies current data gaps and expects the AAR reporting framework to improve group structure information and coverage of third-country subsidiaries’ positions.

Recommended Actions

7 suggested next steps· derived from source analysis
  1. 1
    AI generatedStep 1 of 7

    Reconfirm AAR scope determinations, including clearing obligation status, product/currency coverage, threshold calculations and notification records, before the 2027 assessment cycle.

  2. 2
    AI generatedStep 2 of 7

    Validate that EU CCP accounts are operationally active and that account activity can be evidenced against internal policies and regulatory expectations.

  3. 3
    AI generatedStep 3 of 7

    Build or refresh MI comparing EU CCP and Tier 2 CCP clearing activity, notional outstanding, initial margin and product-level concentration for AAR-relevant portfolios.

  4. 4
    AI generatedStep 4 of 7

    Prepare for possible ESMA or NCA data requests by mapping data ownership across front office, clearing operations, risk, collateral, reporting and legal entity reference data.

  5. 5
    AI generatedStep 5 of 7

    Align implementation with ESMA’s AAR reporting templates and instructions, and test data quality before the first complete AAR data set expected in January 2027.

  6. 6
    AI generatedStep 6 of 7

    Monitor ESMA’s forthcoming methodology and assess whether potential complementary measures or quantitative thresholds could affect clearing strategy and client offerings.

  7. 7
    AI generatedStep 7 of 7

    Document any structural barriers to further EU clearing, such as pricing curve dependencies, contractual constraints, liquidity considerations or basis-risk impacts, for supervisory engagement.

Timeline

effective date

Dec 24, 2024

Regulation (EU) 2024/2987, known as EMIR 3, entered into force and introduced the Active Account Requirement framework.

publication

Jun 19, 2025

ESMA published the regulatory technical standards specifying AAR operational conditions, representativeness obligation and reporting requirements.

implementation

Jun 25, 2025

Counterparties subject to the AAR had until this date to establish an account at an authorised EU CCP.

other

Oct 29, 2025

The European Commission adopted Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/305 on AAR operational conditions, representativeness and reporting requirements.

publication

Feb 6, 2026

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/305 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

other

Feb 9, 2026

ESMA held a Joint Monitoring Mechanism industry roundtable on AAR operationalisation and implementation.

publication

Apr 13, 2026

ESMA released AAR reporting templates and instructions for entities subject to the requirement.

publication

Jul 6, 2026

ESMA’s interim report on the preliminary assessment of AAR effectiveness was dated 6 July 2026.

implementation

Date not specified

During the second half of 2026, AAR reporting data are expected to become available gradually.

implementation

Date not specified

By the end of 2026, ESMA expects to complete the AAR assessment methodology, subject to resources, and intends any targeted data request to be finalised and issued after the methodology is published.

implementation

Date not specified

In January 2027, ESMA expects the first complete set of AAR reporting data to be reported.

publication

Date not specified

In 2027, ESMA plans to submit the final AAR effectiveness assessment to the European Parliament, Council and Commission, followed by publication on ESMA’s website.

Sources

AI-generated analysis is based on the following primary sources. Always verify against the official publication.

Related Evidence

Verified source support for this analysis

The evidence agent checks whether the drafted finding is supported by official publications and relevant public source material.

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