EU EMIR Newsflash: ESMA publishes final report on EMIR 3 AAR

On 19 June 2025, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its final report on the EMIR 3 Active Account Requirement (AAR).  The final report includes ESMA's draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on various aspects of the AAR, which will now be submitted to the European Commission for endorsement. 

Since EMIR 3 entered into force on 24 December 2024, any counterparty that is subject to the EU EMIR clearing obligation must determine whether it falls within the scope of the AAR by performing a further threshold calculation. Accurately running this calculation is crucial, as counterparties subject to the AAR need to establish the necessary active account and begin complying with various associated obligations within six months of becoming subject to the AAR - i.e. before 25 June 2025 for day-one counterparties.

Until now, the available guidance primarily consisted of ESMA's November 2024 consultation, which, being consultative in nature, was always subject to potential change. ESMA's final report outlines its updated approach on various aspects of the calculations and compliance, along with the associated AAR reporting obligations, making it essential reading.

We expect to provide further updates soon.  In the meantime, please feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss this further.