THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds and amending Directives 2008/48/EC and 2014/17/EU and Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 [OJ L 171, 29.6.2016, p. 1.], and in particular the third subparagraph of Articles 25(8) and 26(5) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 25(7) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 obliges administrators of significant benchmarks who choose not to comply with one or more particular requirements of that Regulation to publish and maintain a compliance statement stating why it is not appropriate for them to comply with those requirements. Article 26(3) of that Regulation imposes a similar obligation on administrators of non-significant benchmarks, but in respect of a broader range of requirements.

(2) The compliance statement should allow anyone reading it to identify clearly the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 that the administrator of the benchmark has chosen not to apply and the reasons why the administrator considers it is appropriate for it not to comply with those provisions.

(3) Articles 25(7) and 26(3) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 require the compliance statement to clearly state why the administrator considers it appropriate not to comply with the provisions in question. The template should therefore require a separate explanation for each of the provisions not applied by the administrator.