Matters of European securities (TT Sept03 p26-27)

After two years of intensive effort by the securities professionals who responded to the consultation, the EU’s Prospectus Directive has been reshaped from a disastrous first draft to a final version that promises to radically improve access to European Union (EU) investors. However, the saying that ‘the devil is in the detail’ has never been more apposite than when applied to the detailed requirements for the prospectus, which has still to be finalised. This article focuses particularly on debt issues by EU corporates.