Active Account Requirement and Representativeness Obligation under EMIR Articles 7a and 7b

TO : Regulated Entities
i. Cyprus Investment Firms
ii. UCITS1 and, where relevant, their Management Companies
iii. Alternative Investment Funds (‘AIFs’)2 established or managed in
Cyprus and where relevant, their Alternative Investment Fund Managers (‘AIFMs’)
iv. Non-Financial Counterparties
FROM : Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission DATE : 17 July 2026 CIRCULAR No : C792 SUBJECT : Active Account Requirement and Representativeness Obligation under Articles 7a and 7b of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (‘EMIR’) ______________________________________________________________________ The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (‘CySEC’) wishes to draw the attention of Regulated Entities to the active account requirement (‘AAR’), the related representativeness obligation and the associated notification and reporting requirements applicable under Articles 7a and 7b of EMIR. A. Regulatory Framework

1. Active Account Requirement (‘AAR’)
   i. Scope of the AAR
   According to Article 7a(1) of EMIR, financial counterparties and non-financial counterparties that are subject to the clearing obligation and exceed the clearing threshold are required to establish and maintain an active account at an authorised EU CCP. 1 UCITS set up exclusively for the purpose of service one or more employee share purchase plans are out of scope. 2 AIFs set up exclusively for the purpose of serving one or more employee share purchase plans, or AIFs which are securitization special purpose entities as defined by Article 2(1) of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Law of 2013 (Law 56(I)/2013 as amended) are out of scope.

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ii. In-scope Derivative Contracts and Group Assessment
The AAR applies in respect of the derivative contract categories specified in Article 7a(6) of EMIR, namely:

• interest rate derivatives denominated in euro or Polish zloty; and
• short-term interest rate derivatives denominated in euro.
  In determining whether the AAR applies, counterparties that belong to a group subject to consolidated supervision in the Union must assess the relevant clearing activity on a consolidated basis, taking into account all in-scope derivative contracts cleared by entities within the group, excluding intragroup transactions.
  iii. Notification requirement and establishment of active account
  Where a counterparty becomes subject to the obligation to hold an active account, it shall notify ESMA and its relevant competent authority and shall establish such an active account within six months of becoming subject to that obligation.
  iv. Operational conditions
  Entities subject to the AAR shall ensure that the active account remains continuously operational and complies with the conditions set out in Article 7a(3) of EMIR and Regulation (EU) 2026/305. This includes maintaining appropriate legal documentation, governance arrangements, internal processes and IT connectivity, as well as sufficient operational capacity to use the account for significant clearing activity at short notice.

2. Representativeness Obligation
   In addition to maintaining an active account, counterparties are required to comply with the representativeness obligation under Articles 7a(3)(d) and 7a(4) of EMIR. This obligation requires counterparties to actively use the EU CCP account by clearing a representative proportion of the in-scope derivative contracts referred to in Article 7a(6) of EMIR through that account during each reference period. The detailed requirements relating to representativeness are further specified in Regulation (EU) 2026/305.
3. Reporting obligation
   Pursuant to Article 7b of EMIR, counterparties subject to the AAR shall submit information to their competent authority every six months to enable assessment of compliance with the obligations set out in Article 7a of EMIR.
4. Regulation (EU) 2026/305
   Regulation (EU) 2026/305, which entered into force on 26 February 2026, supplements EMIR by specifying the operational conditions, representativeness

3 and reporting obligations related to the AAR. The Regulation provides the detailed rules necessary for the implementation and supervision of Articles 7a and 7b of EMIR.
5. ESMA Notification Template relevant for Article 7a(1) of EMIR
The European Securities and Markets Authority (‘ESMA’) has published a notification template for counterparties that become subject to the AAR under
Article 7a(1) of EMIR.
6. ESMA Supervisory Briefing
On 20 February 2026, ESMA published a Supervisory Briefing on the representativeness obligation. The briefing aims to clarify supervisory expectations and provide examples regarding compliance with the representativeness requirement and the related reporting obligation in accordance with Article 7b of EMIR and Annex III of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/305.
7. ESMA Reporting Templates
To support the implementation of the AAR, ESMA has developed common reporting templates and instructions for the reporting obligation under Article 7b of EMIR and Regulation (EU) 2026/305. The reporting package, which is aligned with Annex II and Annex III of the Regulation (EU) 2026/305 includes templates covering counterparty information, activities and risk exposures, compliance with the representativeness obligation, and the declaration on operational conditions. B. Reporting
8. When Regulated Entities are subject to the AAR under Article 7a(1) of EMIR, they
should complete the notification template3 and send it to CySEC and ESMA through the email addresses emir@cysec.gov.cy and AAR￾notifications@esma.europa.eu.
9. Regulated Entities that subsequently meet the 85% exemption threshold set out
under Article 7a(5) of EMIR are invited, on a voluntary basis, to re-submit the notification template to CySEC and ESMA. In such cases, Regulated Entities should indicate that they benefit from the exemption by selecting the appropriate field in the template, thereby informing ESMA and CySEC of the change in their status. 3 Please do not modify the structure of the template file (e.g. number of sheets, sheet names) or the format of the document (i.e. the xlsx Excel file format). Documents sent with a different structure or in a different format (e.g. PDF) will not be considered.

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10. Regulated Entities that are subject to the clearing obligation and meet the
conditions set out in Article 7a(1) of EMIR are expected to submit their first report on the AAR to CySEC by 31 July 2026. The first submission should include any backload data demonstrating compliance with the AAR for the period starting 25 June 2025 along with data for 2026. Thereafter, reporting will take place on a six month basis, with submissions due on 31 January and 31 July each year, each covering a twelve-month reference period. The above information should be provided to CySEC using the ESMA reporting templates and following the instructions through the email address emir@cysec.gov.cy. CySEC will be further transmitting to ESMA the information received by Regulated Entities in accordance with Article 7b(1) of EMIR.
C. Next Steps
11. Scope Assessment
Regulated Entities should assess whether they fall within the scope of the AAR, taking into account the applicable clearing thresholds and, where relevant, clearing activity at group level on a consolidated basis.
12. Implementation of the AAR
Regulated Entities that are subject to the AAR should ensure that:

• an active account is established and maintained at an authorised EU CCP;
• appropriate legal, operational and IT arrangements are in place to satisfy the
  operational requirements under EMIR and Regulation (EU) 2026/305;
• adequate processes are established to monitor compliance with the
  representativeness obligation on an ongoing basis;
• arrangements with CCPs, clearing members and relevant service providers
  support the operational use of the active account at all times; and
• sufficient records and controls are maintained to demonstrate compliance
  with the AAR.

13. Ongoing Compliance
    Regulated Entities should establish appropriate procedures and controls to monitor ongoing compliance with the operational, representativeness, notification and reporting requirements under Articles 7a and 7b of EMIR and Regulation (EU) 2026/305. Sincerely, Dr George Theocharides Chairman, Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission
    cc. Central Bank of Cyprus