Applications are welcome by 13.00 CET on 15 February 2013.

ESMA response to the European Commission consultation on the IAS Regulation

ESMA today launches a process to renew the composition of the Consultative Working Group (‘CWG’) for the Corporate Reporting Standing Committee (’CRSC’). ESMA is therefore calling for expressions of interest from stakeholders. Application procedure, closing date Relevant stakeholders meeting the required selection criteria and wishing to apply for a position on the CWG are invited to submit, in English: •    a completed application form, and •    a detailed curriculum vitae (CV), preferably in the EU CV format  It is optional for applicants to attach a motivation letter (2 pages maximum). Unclear or incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications must be submitted by email using the application form by no later than 27 February 2015 to the following email addresses: corporate.reporting@esma.europa.eu

Article 46 of the Regulation (EU) No 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds (Regulation) provides that the competent authority of an administrator of a critical benchmark that is referred to in points (a) and (c) of Article 20(1) of the Regulation shall establish a college.

ESMA will be a member of every college and according to Article 46(7) of the Regulation may give advice concerning the written arrangements. To promote the convergent operation of benchmark colleges, ESMA has developed model written arrangements that may be used by administrators of critical benchmarks according to Article 46(6) of the Regulation.

The three ESA Chairs have received two mandates to make amendments to the SFDR Delegated Regulation – adopted by the Commission on 6 April and currently under scrutiny.

The first one, received on 8 April, invites the ESAs to propose amendments in relation to the information that should be provided in pre-contractual documents, on website and in periodic reports about the exposure of financial products to investments in fossil gas and nuclear energy activities, reflecting the provisions set out in the Complementary Climate Delegated Act (CDA). The amendments should cover pre-contractual and periodic documents or information referred to in Article 6(3) and Article 11(2) SFDR and the product disclosures to be made on websites referred to in Article 10(1) SFDR, for financial products referred to in Article 8(1) to (2a) SFDR and in Article 9(1) to (4a) SFDR. The ESAs are invited to submit the amendments to the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) as requested by the Commission at the latest by 30 September 2022. The amendments to the Delegated Regulation will have to ensure that the disclosures about the degree to which investments are in taxonomy-aligned activities provide for full transparency about investments in fossil gas and nuclear energy activities, in particular on the proportion such investments represent within all investments and in environmentally sustainable economic activities.

On 28 April 2022 the three ESAs Chairs received a second mandate to review the indicators for principal adverse impact (PAI) and the financial product disclosures in the SFDR Delegated Regulation. The Commission has invited the ESAs to (1) streamline and develop further the regulatory framework, (2) consider extending the lists of universal indicators for principal adverse impacts, as well as other indicators, and (3) refine the content of all the indicators for adverse impacts and their respective definitions, applicable methodologies, metrics and presentation. In addition, the mandate invites the ESAs to propose amendments regarding decarbonisation targets and to consider whether the financial products making taxonomy-aligned investments (referred to in Articles 5-6 of the Taxonomy Regulation) sufficiently address the disclosure and information on taxonomy-aligned economic activities. The ESAs should use this second mandate to develop draft RTS in accordance with Articles 4(6) and (7), 8(3), 8(4), 9(5), 9(6), 10(2), 11(4) and 11(5) SFDR in conjunction with Articles 10 of the ESAs Founding Regulations,3 and, where necessary, Article 2a(3) SFDR, and have been asked to provide their input at the latest within 12 months from the receipt of the letter, meaning by 28 April 2023.