The EU Transparency Directive lays down requirements concerning the periodic reporting

The EU Transparency Directive lays down requirements concerning the periodic reporting
and disclosure of major holdings with a focus on listed companies. A review of the existing
Transparency Directive was carried out between October 2011 and May 2013. The revised
Transparency Directive dated 22 October 2013 (Directive 2013/50/EU amending the
Directive 2004/109/EG) came into force on 26 November 2013.

Member States will then
have two years to achieve implementation. In order to reduce the administrative burden and
discourage short-termism on financial markets, listed companies are no longer obliged to
publish quarterly financial information. Moreover, new rules have been introduced to prevent
investors from secretly building up a controlling stake in a listed company (“hidden
ownership”) as investors are now requested to report all financial instruments that have the
same economic effect as holdings of shares.