EU Financial Regulation and Private Law: Towards a Holistic Approach

This essay explores the relationship between EU financial regulation and private law. It is an attempt to systematically rethink the role of private law in the regulatory and enforcement landscape for financial markets and its relationship with public regulation more generally. It argues that financial regulation and private law are not just two parallel universes, but rather two sides of the same coin, each playing a critical role in safeguarding public and private interests in financial markets. Examining EU financial regulation through the ‘private law’ lens would unveil a complex interplay between the regulatory dimension, contractual settings and private law remedies that we need to fathom in order to better regulate financial markets. Conversely, examining national private law through the European ‘regulatory’ lens would allow us to unpack the potential of traditional private law to contribute to the objectives of EU financial regulation, while at the same time realising justice between private parties. Such a holistic approach to financial regulation and private law is particularly needed today when legislators, courts, regulators and other actors at the EU and national level face major new challenges in safeguarding public and private interests in an increasingly digital and sustainability-minded environment surrounding financial markets.