Proposal for European Single Access Point
The European Commission has published a proposal for a regulation establishing a European single access point (“ESAP”), a centralised platform allowing access to publicly disclosed information on financial services, capital markets and sustainability.
The proposal does not create any new reporting obligation in terms of content, but rather builds on existing disclosure requirements, including under the Prospectus Regulation, Market Abuse Regulation, Taxonomy Regulation, Transparency Directive, Takeovers Directive, Shareholder Rights Directive and Statutory Audit Directive.
The ESAP will also allow non-listed entities including SMEs to make available information on a voluntary basis.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) is tasked with establishing the ESAP by 31 December 2024. The scope of the ESAP will be phased in from 2024 to 2026. It is proposed that ESG information, such as the disclosures made under the Taxonomy Regulation and the information provided by issuers of securities in scope of the Transparency Directive and the Prospectus Regulation should be accessible on the ESAP as soon as it is established.
The proposal will now be considered by the European Parliament and Council.
ESAP will contribute to the achievement of the CMU’s objectives by providing EU-wide access to information activities and products of the various categories of entities that are required to disclose such information, which is relevant to capital markets, financial services and sustainable finance.