EU issues ESAP legislation
This week Europe published agreed-upon regulation to establish the European Single Access Point (ESAP). Designed to provide centralised access to publicly relevant data from across EU member states, ESAP has the potential to be a game-changer for digital data in Europe.
Initially proposed in early 2021, ESAP will offer a free, single point of access for data on EU listed companies, investment products and sustainability information. ESAP is a major step forward, enabling access to crucial data from across member states in one convenient place. As we at XBRL International are only too aware, currently that data is scattered across a complex web of different locations throughout the EU, making it difficult to discover and thus standing in the way of cross-border investment.
ESAP will not create any new reporting requirements, rather, it will collate the information reported under existing disclosure arrangements – such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) – in a useful, accessible, platform. ESAP access will be free, but the legislation allows for yet-to-be-defined fees to be included for specific services to support financial sustainability. Advanced functionalities and inclusivity features will make ESAP user-friendly, while robust privacy measures will safeguard data.
ESAP is a milestone in EU financial transparency and cross-border digital data access. We look forward to seeing implementation and understanding how improved data access enhances efficiency in EU capital markets. Although the EU is a long way behind jurisdictions such as Japan and the US, these regulations are extremely welcome and offer a real end-of-year boost to transparency and utility.
Read the regulation here.
