Decision (EU) 2019/137 of the European Central BankShow full title

Article 1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:

(a)

‘Market Infrastructure Board’ means the governance body, which has as its mission to support the Governing Council by ensuring that the Eurosystem's market infrastructures and platforms, in the fields of cash settlement, securities settlement and collateral management, are maintained and further developed in line with the Treaty objectives of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), the ESCB's business needs, technological advances, as well as regulatory and oversight requirements, as applicable from time to time;

(b)

‘ESMIG network service provider’ means a network service provider that has signed a concession contract to provide connectivity services;

(c)

‘connectivity services’ means the direct network connection to the ESMIG that a directly connected market participant requires an ESMIG network service provider to provide in order to benefit from, or perform tasks and responsibilities related to the Eurosystem market infrastructure services;

(d)

‘concession’ means the right as granted by the Eurosystem central banks to a network service provider to provide to the directly connected market participants a set of predefined connectivity services, on the basis of which the ESMIG network service provider shall design, implement, deliver and operate connectivity solutions intended to exchange securely electronic data between the directly connected market participants and the Eurosystem market infrastructures via the ESMIG;

(e)

‘selection panel’ means a panel of three experts composed of two representatives from the mandated central bank (including the chairperson), as well as one representative from a Eurosystem central bank, all designated by the Market Infrastructure Board and formally appointed by the mandated central bank;

(f)

‘Eurosystem central bank’ means either the European Central Bank (ECB) or a national central bank of a Member State whose currency is the euro;

(g)

‘Level 2-Level 3 agreement’ means the supply and operation agreement that is negotiated between the Market Infrastructure Board and the providing NCBs, endorsed by the Governing Council and subsequently signed by the Eurosystem central banks and the providing NCBs. It is to contain the additional details of the tasks and responsibilities of the providing NCBs, the Market Infrastructure Board and the Eurosystem central banks;

(h)

‘directly connected market participant’ means any entity that is authorised to exchange electronic data with a Eurosystem market infrastructure;

(i)

‘mandated central bank’ means the national central bank of a Member State whose currency is the euro appointed by the Governing Council to conduct the selection procedure for the ESMIG network service providers and vested by the Eurosystem central banks with the power to sign a concession contract with each of the selected participants in the name and interest of the Eurosystem central banks;

(j)

‘Eurosystem market infrastructure services’ means the services provided by the Eurosystem central banks' market infrastructures, comprising TARGET services (including the T2 service, TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) service and the TARGET2-Securities (T2S) service), the Eurosystem Collateral Management System (ECMS) and other services to be provided by the Eurosystem's market infrastructures, platforms and applications in the fields of cash settlement, securities settlement and collateral management;

(k)

‘concession contract’ means an agreement governed by the national law of the Member State of the mandated central bank, as proposed by the Market Infrastructure Board and approved by the Governing Council, setting out the reciprocal rights and obligations of the Eurosystem central banks and of the relevant ESMIG network service provider;

(l)

‘selected participant’ means a participant in the selection procedure for the ESMIG network service providers that has been awarded a concession contract;

(m)

‘contract notice’ means the notice of the selection procedure to be published by the mandated central bank in accordance with Article 3(2)(e);

(n)

‘awarding rules’ means the detailed rules governing the selection procedure constituting part of the selection acts to be published;

(o)

‘selection acts’ means the award announcement, the contract notice, as well as the awarding rules, and their annexes and attachments;

(p)

‘Network Acceptance Test’ means a test to be performed by an ESMIG network service provider after the signature of the concession contract, aimed at verifying the compliance of its offered solution with basic functional, resilience and security requirements;

(q)

‘go-live date’ means the date on which the first Eurosystem market infrastructure starts using the connectivity services for daily operation in production.