Article 34
1. Member States shall require that investment firms from other
Member States have the right of access to central counterparty, clearing
and settlement systems in their territory for the purposes of finalising or
arranging the finalisation of transactions in financial instruments.
Member States shall require that access of those investment firms to
such facilities be subject to the same non-discriminatory, transparent and
objective criteria as apply to local participants. Member States shall not
restrict the use of those facilities to the clearing and settlement of transactions
in financial instruments undertaken on a regulated market or
MTF in their territory.
2. Member States shall require that regulated markets in their territory
offer all their members or participants the right to designate the system
for the settlement of transactions in financial instruments undertaken on
that regulated market, subject to:
(a) such links and arrangements between the designated settlement
system and any other system or facility as are necessary to ensure
the efficient and economic settlement of the transaction in question;
and
(b) agreement by the competent authority responsible for the supervision
of the regulated market that technical conditions for settlement of
transactions concluded on the regulated market through a settlement
system other than that designated by the regulated market are such
as to allow the smooth and orderly functioning of financial markets.
This assessment of the competent authority of the regulated market shall
be without prejudice to the competencies of the national central banks
as overseers of settlement systems or other supervisory authorities on
such systems. The competent authority shall take into account the oversight/
supervision already exercised by those institutions in order to
avoid undue duplication of control.
3. The rights of investment firms under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be
without prejudice to the right of operators of central counterparty,
clearing or securities settlement systems to refuse on legitimate commercial
grounds to make the requested services available.