ESMA approved co-operation agreements between securities regulators from the 27 EU Member States, Croatia and the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and 34 third-country regulators, for example Cayman Islands. It must be mentioned that the agreements are bilateral and therefore must be signed between each EU securities regulator and the non-EU authorities. The actual supervision of AIFMs lies with the national securities regulators, therefore each authority decides with which non-EU authorities it will sign a MoU (Memoranda of Understanding).
The key elements of the cooperation arrangements are:
-EU and non-EU authorities will be able to supervise fund managers that operate on a cross-border basis both within the EU and outside;
-The co-operation between authorities includes the exchange of information, cross-border on-site visits and assistance in the enforcement of the respective laws;
-EU securities regulators will be able to share relevant information received from non-EU authorities with other EU authorities, ESMA and the European Systemic Risk Board, provided appropriate safeguards apply;
-The existence of co-operation arrangements between the EU and non-EU authorities is a precondition of the AIFMD for allowing managers based outside the EU to access EU markets or perform fund management by delegation from EU managers; and
-The co-operation arrangements are applicable from 22 July 2013 and enable cross-border management and marketing to professional investors of alternative investment funds.
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