European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR): Regulation of OTC derivatives in the European Union

‘Derivatives’, ‘central counterparties’ and ‘trade repositories’. What are they and how are they inter-related? Why was regulation necessary, and how does the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) regulate? This paper places these elements in context and provides an introduction to the subject of over-the-counter derivatives, as well as the developments that led to the Commission's proposals for revision of the legislation in 2017.