On 12 July 2018, ESMA published a public statement by which it intends to raise the awareness of the stakeholders of the fund industry on the necessity to be prepared for the hard Brexit option in case no deal has been reached by 30 March 2019 between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU).

ESMA recalls that on 30 March 2019, firms must have a fully authorised legal entity within the EU if they intend to benefit from the freedom to provide services in the EU Member States. For this purpose, they should submit their application to the National Competent Authority (NCA) of the chosen Member State as soon as possible to allow it to be processed and be authorised in time, certain NCAs having already issued warnings that unless the applications where submitted in June or July 2018, there was no guarantee to obtain the authorisation before 29 March 2019. ESMA also recalls that the time required for the processing of each file largely depends on its quality and insists on the need to submit files that are complete and accurate.

On 25 July 2018, in line with ESMA's statement, the CSSF issued the Press-Release 18/25 in which it called investment fund managers – AIFMs and UCITS fund managers – intending to relocate their activities in Luxembourg to submit their application as soon as possible. In this context, the Luxembourg supervisor also makes reference to ESMA opinion of 13 July 2017 [see our article].The Luxembourg Regulator also highlights that the above recommendation is also relevant for already authorised entities that wish to extend their licences.

ESMA public statement is available via the following web link.

The CSSF press release is available via the following web link.

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