European Union (EU) lawmakers clinched a deal to toughen the bloc's financial-market rulebook, backing sweeping measures that will put the brakes on high-frequency trading and curb speculation in commodity derivatives. The overhaul, which will push more activity onto regulated platforms, is designed to remedy deficiencies laid bare in the 2008 financial crisis. The accord ends more than two years of haggling over proposals from Michel Barnier, the EU's financial services chief.

“These new rules will improve the way capital markets function to the benefit of the real economy,” Barnier said in an e-mailed statement after yesterday's agreement in Strasbourg, France. “They are a key step towards establishing a safer, more open, and more responsible financial system and restoring investor confidence.”

The EU's bid to revamp its market legislation, known as MiFID, is a centerpiece of the 28-nation bloc's work to implement agreements reached by the Group of 20 nations in the wake of the turmoil that followed the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Members of the European Parliament and officials from Greece, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, resolved outstanding differences on the law over more than seven hours of negotiations that concluded late yesterday.