ESMA Consults on Simplifying EU Taxonomy Disclosure Rules

The European Securities and Markets Authority has opened a consultation on simplifying the EU Taxonomy disclosure framework, aiming to cut reporting burdens for companies and asset managers while keeping the disclosures useful to investors. The regulator is seeking feedback on technical advice it will give the European Commission on selected key performance indicators under the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act. The consultation runs for six weeks, until 12 August 2026, with final advice due by the end of October.

The exercise builds on recent simplification work under the Commission's Omnibus package and feeds into a broader review of taxonomy reporting. ESMA has framed the balance it is trying to strike as easing the reporting load without stripping the disclosures of the relevance investors rely on when assessing how far a company's activities align with the EU's environmental criteria.

 

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Among the specific changes, ESMA proposes simplifications for non-financial undertakings and asset managers, including to the operational expenditure indicator, known as OpEx, which stakeholders have flagged as complex and burdensome to report. The regulator is also seeking views on a pragmatic approach to group-level reporting for mixed groups, based on the reporting model of the parent undertaking.

The work is part of a coordinated effort across the EU's three supervisory authorities. The Commission asked each to advise on targeted aspects of the taxonomy disclosure review within its own remit, alongside horizontal topics of shared interest, and the European Banking Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority have launched parallel consultations of their own.

 

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ESMA will hold a public hearing on 22 July to present the proposals and engage with stakeholders before finalising its technical advice. Once the consultation closes, the regulator will deliver its final recommendations to the Commission by the end of October 2026 as requested.

 

Source: The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)