The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) sees the European Commission’s proposal for the creation of a European Single Access Point (ESAP) as a crucial step in addressing the limited availability and scattered nature of financial and sustainability-related entity information at EU level.
Currently, investors face significant difficulties in accessing and using the information disclosed under the 37 legislative frameworks covered by the ESAP’s proposed scope. Only 5% of the reporting obligations in the financial area are effectively machine-readable.
Tanguy van de Werve, Director General of EFAMA, said, “The consolidation of publicly disclosed financial and ESG company information in a single place would greatly contribute to the integration of EU´s capital market and save investors’ time and resources, notably by giving them free access to such data in a structured, comparable and machine-readable format”.
Dominik Hatiar, Regulatory Policy Advisor at EFAMA, added, “While we understand the rationale for a gradual launch of the ESAP between 2024 and 2026, immediate priority should be given to the centralisation of ESG company data disclosed under the CSRD and the Taxonomy. This will enhance the ability of investors to assess the ESG performance of companies, resulting in new funding opportunities and stronger incentives for companies to become more sustainable.
In this context, EFAMA welcomes the fact that the ESAP proposal allows voluntary filings by non-listed companies, SMEs, and non-EU companies. It believes that this will attract capital to voluntarily filing entities and, if disclosed against the EU Taxonomy, also enhance the investible universe and diversification of financial products targeting high alignment with the EU Taxonomy.
EFAMA said it appreciates that the proposal embeds the ‘file only once’ principle and avoids the duplication of reporting requirements. It will be important that the ESAP does not require the provision of information which is not subject to public distribution, such as information communicated confidentially to investors.
The trade group will analyse the European Commission’s proposal in more detail in the coming weeks, and the association will keep engaging in a constructive and open dialogue with the European Commission and the co-legislators to ensure a successful launch of the ESAP in 2024.
©Markets Media Europe 2021
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