The Council of the European Union has agreed its final draft of the long-awaited revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, bringing key rules for markets and trading one step closer to reality.

The Council's version of Mifid II, which will be formally signed off on Monday, allows European policymakers to enter the final stage of negotiations, whereby the Council and the European Parliament are required to agree on the final text with input from the European Commission - in a process known as trilogue. The trilogue phase could take up to nine months to complete.