Access to Financial Services Markets Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation
In 2018, the UK implemented Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments ("MiFID II"), which came into effect alongside MiFIR. MiFID II replaced Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on markets in financial instruments, and together with MiFIR established a new framework for the regulation of investment firms and trading venues.
	MiFIR Title 8 contains a market access regime, which enables investment firms from equivalent jurisdictions to provide cross-border services to per se professional clients and eligible counterparties.
	Following the end of the Transition Period, MiFIR forms part of retained EU law and therefore continues to apply in the UK. HM Treasury has made the necessary changes under the EUWA to ensure that Title 8 continues to operate effectively following the end of the Transition Period in regulation 33 of the Markets in Financial Instruments (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1403). Under Title 8, HM Treasury is empowered to make an equivalence determination in favour of a third country. Following this determination, once certain other criteria have been met, firms from that third country which register with the FCA are permitted to provide investment services to per se professional clients and eligible counterparties in the UK without needing to be authorised to provide those investment services under Part 4A of FSMA.