ESMA Policy Statements

Key dates

2026-03-04

The European Commission issued its call for technical advice to the European Supervisory Authorities on targeted simplification of the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act.

2026-07-01

ESMA launched its consultation on selected Taxonomy KPIs and proposed simplification measures.

2026-08-12 Deadline

ESMA’s consultation period closed.

2026-10-29

ESMA submitted its Final Report and technical advice to the European Commission for consideration in the review of the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act.

Suggested considerations

• Compliance teams should continue applying the currently effective Taxonomy Regulation and Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act until any Commission amendment enters into force.
• Firms should monitor the Commission’s review of the Disclosures Delegated Act and assess any subsequent delegated act, scrutiny period, entry-into-force date and transitional provisions before changing reporting controls.
• Corporate reporting teams may wish to model the effect of an R&D-only mandatory OpEx KPI, including the IAS 38 or national-GAAP population, numerator mapping and interaction with existing materiality reliefs.
• Groups should inventory parent and subsidiary business lines, assess whether secondary businesses could exceed a cumulative 10% consolidated-turnover threshold, and prepare for possible parent-regime and simplified secondary-business templates.
• Asset managers and other financial undertakings should avoid treating the proposed absence of voluntary OpEx reporting as current law and should document the basis for any voluntary Taxonomy metrics under existing disclosure and anti-greenwashing controls.
• Issuers and sustainability-reporting teams should review sustainable-bond, internal-sales, contextual-information and CapEx Type C data processes so they can adapt if the Commission adopts ESMA’s recommendations.
• Reporting governance should track whether any future voluntary alternative metric is reconciled to the mandatory KPI and subject to applicable ESMA Guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures.

What changed

ESMA recommends that the mandatory Article 8 Taxonomy Regulation OpEx KPI focus on non-capitalised R&D expenditure, with the denominator based on expenditure recognised under IAS 38 or relevant national GAAP and the numerator drawn from the existing Annex I categories. It does not recommend introducing a mandatory voluntary OpEx+ metric, and advises against allowing financial undertakings, including asset managers, to use an OpEx KPI voluntarily for Taxonomy disclosures.

Key dates

2026-10-20

ESMA published its final report on the RTS specifying requirements for PTRR services using the EMIR 3 clearing-obligation exemption.

Suggested considerations

• PTRR providers should compare their existing compression, rebalancing and basis-risk-optimisation procedures with the final ESMA requirements, particularly participant disclosures, algorithm governance, execution controls, record retention and monitoring support.
• Firms should identify OTC derivative transactions processed through PTRR services that are currently expected to rely on the EMIR 3 conditional clearing exemption and document the legal and operational basis for that treatment.
• Compliance and legal teams may wish to review contracts, client disclosures and service descriptions to ensure that participants receive adequate information about the exercise, its methodology, expected outcomes and relevant risks.
• Providers should consider preserving evidence that each exercise meets the applicable risk-reduction and market-risk-neutrality conditions and does not function as a means of avoiding the clearing obligation.
• Firms should prepare for possible changes when the European Commission endorses the RTS, including tracking the endorsement, publication and application dates and updating policies, controls, reporting procedures and staff guidance accordingly.
• Operations and records-management teams should assess whether existing books and records can identify the participants, transactions, algorithms, controls, results and decisions associated with each PTRR exercise for the required supervisory period.
• Users of third-party PTRR services should consider obtaining contractual assurances and sufficient information from providers to demonstrate that transactions claimed as exempt satisfy the final RTS conditions.
• Industry participants may wish to monitor Commission endorsement and any transitional provisions rather than treating the 20 October 2026 publication date as the effective date of the RTS.

What changed

The final report specifies the conditions under which transactions resulting from PTRR services may qualify for the EMIR 3 clearing-obligation exemption, including requirements concerning participant information, the conduct and execution of PTRR exercises, provider controls, record-keeping and supervisory monitoring. The framework addresses the main service types identified in ESMA's consultation: portfolio compression, portfolio rebalancing and basis risk optimisation, with requirements intended to demonstrate risk reduction and prevent circumvention of the clearing obligation.

Key dates

2027-01-17 Deadline

The current transitional regime for certain third-country CSD notary and central maintenance services is scheduled to expire; ESMA says access should nevertheless not be prevented after this date pending finalisation of the legislative extension.

Suggested considerations

• Firms should identify securities, issuer programmes, custody chains and settlement arrangements that depend directly or indirectly on a third-country CSD, including arrangements involving DTC or other non-EU infrastructure.
• Compliance and operations teams may wish to document reliance on the transitional regime and assess the consequences of a delayed or unsuccessful legislative extension, including possible suspension, removal of securities from a CSD system, settlement disruption and trading interruption.
• Issuers should consider confirming with their third-country CSD, depositary, registrar, paying agent, custodian and trading venues how access is expected to be maintained after 17 January 2027 and what contingency arrangements exist.
• Firms should distinguish ESMA's policy statement from a binding legislative amendment or formal recognition decision and avoid treating it as confirmation that every third-country CSD may provide services indefinitely without satisfying CSDR requirements.
• Legal and regulatory teams may wish to monitor the final text and commencement date of the Market Integration and Supervision Package, together with any European Commission equivalence decisions and ESMA recognition decisions relevant to the CSDs used by the firm.
• Firms should review contractual, disclosure and operational-resilience documentation so that any dependency on third-country CSD access, alternative settlement routes or potential service suspension is appropriately reflected.

What changed

ESMA has provided a supervisory and market-access clarification that EU market participants should not be prevented from accessing the relevant notary and central maintenance services of third-country CSDs solely because the current transitional regime reaches its scheduled end on 17 January 2027. The clarification is intended to apply during the period after that date and until the EU finalises the proposed legislative extension under the Market Integration and Supervision Package.

Key dates

Summer 2026

- European Commission aims to adopt revised ESRS into a delegated act, considering ESMA, EBA, EIOPA, ECB opinions

FY 2029 (reporting in 2030)

- End of certain temporary reliefs on quantitative information for anticipated financial effects (if ESMA recommendations adopted)

First years post

adoption (2026+); - Learning curve period with pragmatic NCAs supervision and flexibility in examinations

Suggested considerations

• Monitor Commission process: Track final delegated act by summer 2026, incorporating ESMA/EBA/EIOPA/ECB opinions; review full ESMA opinion PDF for detailed recommendations.
• Assess current reporting: Evaluate use of permanent/temporary reliefs (e.g., #3/#4 on quantitative data, #9/#11 on metrics) and prepare for time limits; refine transition plans for emissions/targets.
• Enhance governance disclosures: Strengthen reporting on sustainability competences in management/supervisory bodies and financial resources for actions.
• Review subsidiary exemptions: Check materiality exclusions for sustainability risks/opportunities in consolidated statements.
• Prepare for supervision: Leverage NCAs flexibility during transition; integrate into data governance and risk systems per CSRD implementation trends.

What changed

• The draft revised ESRS introduce simplifications such as improved readability, language, format, reduced volume of requirements, and a focus on material matters.
• Introduce time limits to certain permanent reliefs (e.g., reliefs #3, #4, #9, #11 on quantitative information for anticipated financial effects until FY 2029, and metrics).
• Refine requirements on transition plans (e.g., consistent disclosure of absolute financed emissions and contextual information).
• Strengthen reporting on sustainability competences of administrative, management, and supervisory bodies.
• Enhance transparency on financial resources allocated to sustainability actions.