In Europe, trading activities in financial markets and brokerage activities are and should be regulated activities. Therefore, any company that offers such services must be registered with a competent authority that regulates its activity and has the possibility to verify it.
All the brokers need to be regulated in one of the EU countries in order to be legally able to provide investment services for you as a regular client.
The operating license and the regulation are elements that guarantee that the laws and legal regulations in force are respected and that the clients are protected
The best online forex brokers are the regulated brokers. A regulated broker really is the guarantee that you are not on a scam site.
To see if the broker you want to trade is regulated, it is very important to look for information in the best place/source and this place is ESMA (European Security and Markets Authority).
Step 1: Open ESMA website (https://www.esma.europa.eu/) and click in the top right on: Investor corner than click CHECK IT A FIRM IS REGULATED
Step 2: After you click on CHECK IT A FIRM IS REGULATED a new page will open and somewhere at the middle of the page you will find: Public registers can be accessed through national regulators’ websites and there you have to click on national regulators’ websites (see below screenshot)
Step 3: Choose a country and click on National Competent Authority for that specific country (you will be able to select the English language on the top left or right of the page) and then type in the name of the broker/firm you want to check (for example I have chosen Germany)