The European Commission has published an Inception Impact Assessment on the possible introduction of legislation for crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending. The Inception Impact Assessment discusses the need for the EU to develop alternative financing sources as part of the Capital Markets Union and how this might be achieved through strengthening the EU crowdfunding market. The Commission has identified two issues that would need to be addressed - firstly, the relatively small scale of crowdfunding platforms and lack of cross-border activity and secondly, the market's perception of the lack of reliability of crowdfunding and peer-to-peer platforms. The Inception Impact Assessment discusses the policy options that will be included in the impact assessment, if the Commission decides to proceed with the proposal, which are: (i) no EU framework; (ii) a self-regulatory approach with minimum EU standards; (iii) a comprehensive approach that treats crowdfunding platforms like regulated trading venues or payment institutions; and (iv) a standalone opt-in EU framework for platforms wishing to undertake cross-border activity (leaving national regimes for purely domestic platforms). The Inception Impact Assessment is intended to inform stakeholders and market participants of the Commission's intentions and to seek feedback on the intended initiative and any related future consultations. Feedback is requested by November 27, 2017.

View the consultation website.