The European Union’s Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers is now unlikely to enter into force before June, according to Jonathan Faull, director general of the Directorate General for Internal Market and Services at the European Commission.
In a letter to Carlos Tavares, acting chairman of the newly-established European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma), Faull has indicated that the delay has arisen during the process of finalisation of the legislation.
At the end of 2010, following approval of the legislation by the European Parliament at first reading on November 11, it appeared that the directive would become law in February or March. However, Faull has written that “we have learned from the lawyer linguists of Council and European Parliament that the AIFM Directive will most likely not enter into force before June 2011”.
As a result of the finalisation of the legislation being “considerably later than originally expected”, the Commission has extended the deadline for Esma to provide technical advice on level 2 measures under the directive by two months, until November 16 this year.