Adoption of the regulatory and implementing technical standards for the Regulation on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories
Derivatives play an important role in the economy but are associated with certain risks. The crisis has highlighted that these risks are not sufficiently mitigated in the over-the-counter (OTC) part of the market, especially as regards Credit Default Swaps (CDS). Since the beginning of the financial crisis, the Commission has been working to address these risks.
On 19 December 2012, the European Commission has adopted nine regulatory and implementing technical standards to complement the obligations defined under the Regulation on OTC derivatives, Central Counterparties (CCPs) and trade. They were developed by the European Supervisory Authorities and have been endorsed by the European Commission without modification. The adoption of these technical standards finalises requirements for the mandatory clearing and reporting of transactions, in line with the EU's G20 commitment made in Pittsburgh in September 2009.
On 9 February 2012, the European Parliament and the Council reached an important agreement on a Regulation for more stability, transparency and efficiency in derivatives markets. It was a key step in the effort to establish a safer and sounder regulatory framework for European financial markets.
On 4 July 2012, the Regulation on OTC Derivatives, Central Counterparties and Trade Repositories (known as "EMIR" - European Market Infrastructure Regulation) was adopted and entered into force on 16 August 2012. . This was a major development which enables the European Union to deliver the G20 commitments on OTC derivatives agreed in Pittsburgh in September 2009.
The Regulation ensures that information on all European derivative transactions will be reported to trade repositories and be accessible to supervisory authorities, including the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), to give policy makers and supervisors a clear overview of what is going on in the markets.
The Regulation also requires standard derivative contracts to be cleared through Central Counterparties (CCPs) as well as margins for uncleared trades and establishes stringent organisational, business conduct and prudential requirements for these CCPs.

Webpage for further info:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/financial-markets/derivatives/index_en.htm

ESMA webpage with further info.