If financial instruments such as shares or bonds are issued, a prospectus is generally required (this follows from the Prospectus Regulation).

In the European Union, securities may only be offered to the public after a prospectus has been published in accordance with the Regulation. There are some exceptions to this obligation.
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In practice, an important exemption from this obligation is that securities can be offered to the public if they are part of an offer where the total consideration of the offer within the European Economic Area, calculated by class and over a period of twelve months, is less than €5 million.