European public equity markets are facing growing pressure. The number of listed companies continues to decline, driven by fewer IPOs, increasing delistings and growing competition from private capital and non-European markets. At the same time, Europe needs strong and efficient capital markets to support innovation, growth and strategic autonomy.

During the conference we will examine whether the current regulatory and market framework remains fit for purpose and whether recent reforms are sufficient to restore the attractiveness and competitiveness of European stock exchanges. Particular attention will be given to what Euronext does within the scope of its mandate and the balance between market development, investor protection and efficient capital allocation.
The discussion will also focus on the financing gap faced by European scale-ups that outgrow venture capital but struggle to access deep public equity markets in Europe, often leading to US listings, acquisitions, dual listings such as Materialise (MTLS), or alternative financing structures including tokenised offerings. The conference will further assess the impact of the EU Listing Act adopted on 8 October 2024, including simplified prospectus and market abuse rules, multiple-vote share structures and revised MiFID II research rules, while exploring whether additional reforms remain necessary.
Finally, the debate will address the question if it is possible to combine the best of both worlds: "new market models combining flexibility with investor protection, including regulated secondary trading mechanisms for shares in unlisted companies without requiring a full public listing"?

Conference - Introduction by Jean Hilgers, Independent Board Member

• Keynote Speaker : Benoît van den Hove CEO & Chairman Euronext Brussels
• Regulatory Perspective : Annemie Rombouts Vice-Chair, FSMA Chair, ESMA Issuer Standing Committee
• Private Markets View : Sigrid Ververken PhD KUL, Partner Freshfields
• Private and public Markets View : Piet Bevernage Member of the executive committee at Ackermans & van Haaren NV

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