ESMA may request that the Commission suspend the clearing obligation in Article 4(1) for specific classes of OTC derivatives or for a specific type of counterparty where: (a) those classes are no longer suitable for central clearing under Article 5(4) and Article 5(5); (b) a CCP is likely to cease clearing them and no other CCP can do so without interruption; or (c) suspension is necessary and proportionate to avoid or address a serious threat to financial stability or the orderly functioning of markets. For point (c) ESMA shall consult the ESRB and competent authorities designated under Article 22. Requests must be accompanied by evidence and may include a request to suspend the trading obligation in Article 28(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where this is a material change. Competent authorities may ask ESMA to submit a request; ESMA must decide within 48 hours and may reject with written reasons. Requests are not made public.

The Commission shall, without undue delay and on ESMA’s evidence, either suspend the clearing obligation by implementing act or reject the request and provide reasons to ESMA, immediately informing the European Parliament and the Council; such information is not public. Suspensions shall be published in the Official Journal, on the Commission website and in the public register and are valid initially for up to three months, with possible extensions by implementing act of up to three months at a time to a maximum total of 12 months. ESMA shall, in sufficient time before the end of any suspension or extension, issue an opinion to the Commission on whether the grounds continue to apply, consulting the ESRB and designated competent authorities and sending the opinion to the European Parliament and the Council; implementing acts follow the procedure in Article 86(3).