European Single Access Point (ESAP) – regulation memo

In 2020, the European Commission (EC) adopted the Capital Markets Union (CMU) Action Plan to build a more harmonised framework across the European Union (EU) and help EU companies raise the capital they need for their development.

In 2021, the European Commission introduced a set of four legislative proposals with a view to strengthening the Capital Markets Union:

1. The European Long-Term Investment Funds regulation (ELTIF), which aims at channelling long-term financing to listed or unlisted small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as long-term infrastructure projects in various sectors
2. The revision of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), which introduced targeted amendments to make the alternative investment fund market more efficient and integrated
3. The revision of the Financial Instruments Markets Regulation (MiFIR), to further improve market transparency
4. The European Single Access Point package (ESAP)

About the European Single Access Point package (ESAP)

What are the main objectives of the European Single Access Point package?

According to the European Commission, public data in the European Union is fragmented. It can be accessed via many different access points, is expressed in different languages, and digital formats. This fragmentation impedes investment, and in particular cross-border investment.

The main objectives of the European Single Access Point package are to:

1. Collect information on the activities and products of entities at EU level in relation to capital markets, financial services, and sustainable finance
2. Help achieve the European Commission’s ecological transition of the EU economy
3. Help achieve the European Commission’s digital finance strategy, which mandates that information made public must be in extractable and machine-readable formats

Reference texts of the European Single Access Point package (ESAP)

The European Single Access Point package (ESAP) was published in the Official Journal of 20 December 2023 and entered into force on 9 January 2024.

The package consists of two regulations and one directive:

• The first regulation establishes the European Single Access Point
  • Regulation (EU) 2023/2859 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2023 establishing a ESAP providing centralised access to publicly available information of relevance to financial services, capital markets and sustainability
• An omnibus regulation which lists the 21 sectorial regulations amended by ESAP
  • Regulation (EU) 2023/2869 of 13 December 2023 amending certain Regulations as regards the establishment and functioning of the ESAP
• An omnibus directive which lists the 16 sectorial directives amended by ESAP
  • Directive (EU) 2023/2864 of 13 December 2023 amending certain Directives as regards the establishment and functioning of the ESAP; 

What is ESAP?

The European single access point is a platform that will provide access to centralised public information about companies and investment products at EU level in relation to capital markets, financial services, and sustainable finance.

The ESAP will eventually provide access to financial and extra-financial data through a single, public source. This is a major step toward increased transparency and accessibility of financial and extra-financial data as their consultation and comparison by investors will be facilitated, thus helping them in their decision-making process.

The European single access point will be set up and administered by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). The European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the competent national authorities will also contribute.

The ESAP will be open to all and, in principle, free of charge (except for financial contributions in the event of significant and recurring data extraction).

Collection bodies (European regulators, ESMA, EIOPA, EBA, and national competent authorities) will oversee the collection of data, the control, and the storage of the information on the ESAP.

Entities (companies, issuers, funds, asset managers, investment firms, insurance companies, credit institutions, Central Securities Depositories, Central Counterparties, etc.) will provide collection bodies with the required information using a specific format (data extractable format or, where required by Union law, in a machine-readable format). Information must also be accompanied by a qualified electronic seal and must include specific metadata (to be further detailed in the implementing technical standards issued by the European Supervisory Authorities, namely EBA, EIOPA and ESMA).

Any information, document, or report that is made public under EU law by an entity will have to be submitted to the collection bodies upon its publication. The ESAP will also provide access to information relevant to financial services and capital markets that is made public on a voluntary basis by any EU entity.

It is important to point out that the text does not introduce the obligation to report any new information from entities but aims to organise the centralisation of public information already carried forward by entities to authorities within the framework of the directives and regulations referred to by ESAP.

What are the functionalities of the European single access point?

ESMA will ensure that the ESAP has at least the following functionalities:

(a) A web portal with a user-friendly interface, which considers the access needs of persons with disabilities, to provide access to the information in all official languages of the Union
(b) An API enabling easy access to the information
(c) A search function in all official languages of the Union
(d) An information viewer
(e) A machine translation service for the information retrieved
(f) A download service, including for the download of large quantities of data
(g) A notification service informing users of any new information on the ESAP
(h) The presentation of information submitted on a voluntary basis pursuant to Article 1(1), point (b), in such a manner that (i) it can be clearly distinguished from information submitted on a mandatory basis pursuant to Article 1(1), point (a); (ii) where applicable, users are informed that the information does not necessarily meet all the requirements for information submitted on a mandatory basis pursuant to Article 1(1), point (a), and will not necessarily be updated over time

Impacted regulations and timetable

In total, 16 directives and 21 regulations will be amended to include a new article introducing the obligation for an entity to submit information to a designated collection body.

The entry into application will be phased in and will respect three deadlines depending on the texts concerned:

• 10 July 2026: Inclusion of information disclosed according to the Short-Selling Regulation, the Prospectus Regulation, and the transparency Directive
• 10 January 2028: Inclusion of information such as PEPP, MAR, UCITS Directive, SFDR, PRIIPS, CRA regulation, Benchmark Regulation, Accounting Directive, EuVECA and EuSEF
• 10 January 2030: Inclusion of information from about 20 additional pieces of legislation, such as IORP II directive, MIFID II and MiFIR, AIFMD, MMFR, ELTIF, MiCA, SFTR, CRR, SRD, EU Green Bonds, Solvency II, Insurance Distribution Directive and the Audit Regulation/Directive

If the ESAP is expected to become operational in July 2026 for a first set of data, the deadline for ESMA to establish the ESAP and publish the first information is 10 July 2027. ESMA shall also publish a list of collection bodies and shall ensure its update, which is notified to the European Commission.

The ESAP package must be supplemented by Implementing Technical Standards (ITS):

• The EBA, EIOPA, and ESMA (the ESAs) published end of November 2023 a consultation paper on draft ITS specifying certain tasks of collection bodies and certain functionalities of the ESAP.
• The document is very technical and provide a list of formats acceptable as data-extractable and machine-readable formats, characteristics of qualified electronic seal, and a list of metadata. The collection bodies will have to control the formats used by the entities.
  The collection bodies will also verify the validity of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) code against the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) database. In all cases, the reporting entity remains responsible for the accuracy of the metadata.
• Interested parties are encouraged to provide qualitative and quantitative data on costs and benefits. If respondents identify any technical or operational difficulties in implementing the proposed requirements, they should give details and specify the costs involved.

The deadline of this consultation is March 2024. The ESAs should publish a final report and submit the ITS to the European Commission by 10 September 2024.

What are the industry implications of ESAP?

ESAP is likely to help financial institutions and their clients provide an easy and centralised access to some key useful information.

However, the industry will need to undertake a significant update of existing systems and controls to ensure all required information are submitted to the relevant collection bodies upon publication – in the appropriate format and at the appropriate time – for submission to the ESAP platform. Entities will have to submit the required information to the collection bodies in a data-extractable format or in a machine-readable format where required by the regulations.

Setting up and administrating the ESAP will also be a challenge for ESMA.

Securities Services’ view

We welcome the establishment of a platform that will bring together in a single point a set of public financial or extra-financial data on entities or products at EU level, even if the platform will not be fully functional until 2030.

This should help to improve the quality, standardisation, and reliability of the data available, which will make it easier to make investment decisions and ultimately help clients in their investment decisions.

We also welcome the fact that the ESAP is open to all and, on principle, of free of charge.

We are committed to provide any support that would be needed, including support to ESMA to help set up the platform by the deadline.