The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to hold its first high-level meeting with Euronext officials next month as the US regulator seeks to better understand the regulatory implications of its planned merger with the New York Stock Exchange.

Christopher Cox, SEC chairman, said he was also set to meet European regulators to hammer out a fresh approach to cross-border exchange regulation in the wake of the proposed merger.

The moves are a sign of what Mr Cox said was "a recent acceleration in our collaboration" as a result of the planned merger, which would create the world's first global securities and derivatives exchange.

The merger has raised questions about how regulators plan to oversee an exchange that spans multiple time zones and jurisdictions, including how to oversee a business that is expected to grow by offering cross-listings and a harmonised trading platform.

There have also been fears in Europe that exchange combinations involving US exchanges might in certain circumstances lead to US-style regulations creeping across the Atlantic.

Mr Cox said co-ordination with regulators in Europe was "very advanced". But he said such collaboration had been stepped up recently as a direct result of the NYSE/ Euronext plans.

"Not surprisingly some of those discussions are focused on the mechanics of that transaction," Mr Cox told a media briefing marking a year since his swearing-in as SEC chairman.

Mr Cox is also due to meet officials at the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, a Madrid-based body that groups the world's securities and financial regulators.