Organization of exchange activities in the EU and the UK: a comparative legal approach

Abstract

The article examines the models of organization of exchange activity of economically developed countries of the European Union and Great Britain, analyzes the legal framework of stock exchanges in the respective countries, similar features and differences of legal regulation of the European stock market, the impact of EU regulations and directives, as well as inner (local) rules of stock exchanges and stock exchange associations for the development of relations in the field of trading by securities and other financial instruments in these states, which, in turn, contributes to improving of investment climate in the economies of these countries. Initially, it is pointed at the changes in the structure of the European stock market, the volume of trading operations carried out on the stock exchanges of the EU, due to the Brexit procedure and the pandemic caused by COVID-19. It is further noted that European stock exchanges tend to combine both management and resource potentials, and the regulation of their activities is characterized by a certain unification of European legislation and its liberalization, which is expressed in the gradual granting of stock market entities an increasing amount of self-regulatory powers and self-control. This approach has a generally positive impact on the growth of EU stock exchanges, increasing the level of quotations of their indices on the international stock market, maintaining the credibility as of reliable and safe sources of investment. At the same time, despite the harmonization of European legislation through the adoption of regulations and directives, each European country leaves certain features of its own model of organization of exchange activities. The article describes the features of organizational and legal regulation of stock exchanges, mainly in five European countries (UK, Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands), as well as the European stock exchange association Euronext. There is a final conclusion that the legislative deregulation of exchange activities in the EU and the UK has significantly improved the financial market in these regions. Granting greater freedom of regulation to stock exchanges and their associations makes the system of stock exchange regulation more efficient and flexible, able to adapt to changes in the stock market faster than would have happened in terms of legal regulation. The implementation of such an approach in Ukraine (especially the French model) can most effectively influence the development of the Ukrainian economy