The group, composed of all stakeholders, has now published its findings, which will contribute to ongoing discussions at domestic and European levels.
The report addresses three main themes:

* Improving transparency
o Pre-trade transparency: the report outlines several proposals, which include keeping pre-trade transparency waivers based on order size, as well as the requirements for negotiated transactions, which existed pre-MiFID, while clarifying the scope. Concerning the so-called reference price waiver, which allows a multilateral trading facility (MTF) to operate as a dark pool if the transactions it executes are based on a price imported from another trading system, the report recommends regulating these arrangements by setting a maximum trading volume beyond which the MTF is no longer eligible for the waiver.
o Post-trade transparency: the group supports mandatory introduction of a consolidated tape system in Europe. It also recommends that trades executed on crossing networks and by systematic internalisers should be identified by a generic identifier and that, more generally, transactions not subject to pre-trade transparency requirements should be identified when made public. Another recommendation is to reduce trade publication delays, notably by cutting the maximum delay from 3 minutes to 60 seconds, and to shorten the deferral periods currently authorised for some types of transactions. The group acknowledges the need to harmonise trade flags1 on trading venues throughout Europe. And it stresses the importance of clarifying the notion of over-the-counter (OTC) trading, which at present is defined solely by default, and determining a suitable way of regulating OTC trades, notably by flagging them.
* Ensuring fair competition among trading venues. The report recommends establishing a special legal status for crossing networks and setting a market share limit above which they would have to adopt MTF status. This would address concern addren address concerns about absence of pre-trade transparency and privatisation of liquidity. The report also advocates strengthening the requirements that now apply to MTFs, particularly with regard to market organisation and surveillance, bringing them into line with those applicable to regulated markets.
* Identifying technological developments in markets: the report looks at high frequency trading, colocation, sponsored market access, fee structures and indications of interest, and recommends that the future European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) be given broad regulatory powers.

The working group's intention with this report was to stress that Europe's secondary equity markets should once again become venues where issuers meet with investors and investors meet one another. It is therefore vital to restore investor confidence in transparent and orderly markets. In view of the rapid changes in market conditions and technologies, the group recommends that ESMA should have the power to prepare compulsory standards and take binding measures on the basis of a jurisdiction assigned under MiFID.

1These flags, provided for in MiFID, are used to identify certain types of trade (e.g. negotiated transactions) or show whether an exchange of shares has been determined by factors other than the prevailing market price.