The European Securities and Markets Authority has issued a €13 million outsourcing tender in a bid to help alleviate its ongoing staff shortage.

The development comes as Europe's major financial markets regulator grapples with an ever-ballooning workload that is set to expand further with the final review of Europe's mammoth rulebook, the Market in Financial Instruments Directive. Mifid II is a critical and expansive text that will overhaul Europe's financial markets and is expected to be signed off this week.