meta_id 3445332

On August 28, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to Rule 3a12-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to designate European Union (EU) debt obligations as "exempted securities" for the purposes of futures marketing and trading. The proposed amendments would add EU debt obligations to the existing list of foreign government debt obligations covered under Rule 3a12-8. This change addresses a regulatory gap whereby debt obligations of individual EU member states were already designated as exempted securities, but EU debt itself was not included. The amendments would place futures contracts on EU debt obligations under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), consistent with the regulatory treatment already afforded to futures on debt obligations of several EU member states currently listed under the rule. The underlying debt obligations themselves would remain subject to federal securities laws. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said the proposal closes inconsistencies in the regulatory framework and represents harmonization efforts between the SEC and the CFTC to preserve investor protection while eliminating regulatory gaps. The proposed amendments leave unchanged all existing substantive requirements and provisions of Rule 3a12-8, including its application to debt obligations of EU member states and other foreign governments already listed in the rule. The comment period will remain open for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register. The proposing release is available on SEC.gov and will be published in the Federal Register.