The European Union agreed to the basic text of a wide-ranging law governing a broad array of financial instruments and marketplaces, ending three-and-a-half years of back-and-forth negotiations.

The so-called Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, or Mifid, covers a range of issues affecting the organisation of Europe's financial marketplaces and, critically, giving precise definitions of marketplaces and products that are cross-referenced in many other European laws. It is a large part of the general overhaul of European financial regulation after the 2008 financial crisis.