EU watchdog calls for regional share price ticker tape

LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The European Union's securities watchdog said on Thursday that stock exchanges should be forced to contribute prices to a pan-European ticker tape to unify fragmented markets.

The EU has long sought to copy the United States and have a "consolidated tape" that knits stock prices traded on upwards of 20 platforms and exchanges across the bloc, making it easier for investors to find the best prices.

Previous efforts foundered after disagreements on how much exchanges could charge for data, making a tape commercially unviable.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said that EU securities rules known as MiFID II have failed to cut the cost of stock market data for users like banks and asset managers.

"Moreover, as no consolidated tape has materialised, ESMA recommends the establishment of a European Union (EU) wide real-time consolidated tape for equity instruments," ESMA said in a statement.

(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Sinead Cruise)