On Monday 10 October, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) detailed its long-term priorities in a document setting out its strategy for 2023-2028. “Promoting the efficiency and stability of EU markets and improving the protection of retail investors through enhanced supervision are at the heart of ESMA’s mission,” explained ESMA Chair Verena Ross in a statement.
“The two key drivers of sustainability and technological and data innovation are also now embedded in all areas of the organisation”, she added.
To implement this, ESMA actively supports the deepening of European capital markets, ensuring their integrity and making them more efficient. It also wants to increase transparency, in particular through the European Single Access Point (ESAP) (see EUROPE 12984/4).
The European authority also has the task of achieving a common supervisory culture in the EU, risk prioritisation, and convergence of supervisory approaches and outcomes.
To enhance the protection of retail investors, ESMA proposes actions related to investor engagement and effective information and disclosure.
On sustainable finance, ESMA will work to enhance the effectiveness and integrity of disclosure related to environmental, social and governance criteria, as well as to improve the regulatory framework and supervision of these criteria.
ESMA will work to prevent financial regulation from hampering innovation. It will, for example, assess the impact of technologies used in financial markets on the existing regulatory framework and the implementation of future EU legislation in this area.
Finally, ESMA plans to further strengthen its role as a data and information platform in the EU.
To consult ESMA’s 2023-2028 strategy: https://aeur.eu/f/3ib (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)