The European Multilateral Clearing Facility (EMCF) was a clearing house based in the Netherlands for equity trades done on stock exchanges or multilateral trading facility throughout Europe. It was established after the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) regulations were passed by the European Union allowing competition for clearing services. EMCF helped reduce the cost of clearing within Europe as it competed directly with the established clearing houses in each member state forcing them to reduce prices.