Who has never dreamed of having all the information they needed in a single click? The European Commission’s future one-stop shop intends to fulfil this wish

The objective of the ESAP is to provide the entire EU with access to information on the activities or products provided by entities where such information relates to financial markets, financial services or sustainable finance. The ESAP will create a single point from which all these data can be accessed, thus facilitating their consultation, comparison and therefore decision-making. The targeted information is information already subject to a disclosure obligation. However, in certain circumstances, information could be transmitted on a voluntary basis.

The ESAP initiative builds on two other European Commission (EC) programmes: its commitment to the green transition of the EU economy¹ and its digital financing strategy².

It is hard to keep track of the number of European directives/regulations incorporating a disclosure obligation (the EC cites 200 obligations affecting the financial markets³) and the forthcoming texts are unlikely to reverse the trend.

It is therefore not the scarcity of information that poses a concern, but its access. In fact, according to the EC, 17% of this data is transmitted to “official collectors” and out of the remaining 83%, only half must be available on the website of the entity subject to the obligation⁴.

The research difficulties resulting from this scattered access were seen as a major obstacle to the implementation of the Capital Markets Union (CMU), particularly in terms of economic support and financing of the green and digital transition. How can I make investment choices easily if the information is not centralised?

What data are concerned, and for whom?

Not all published information is intended to be on the ESAP (for example, information that is frequently updated or must be promptly made public will remain accessible only via the current channel). The EC finally adopted 16 directives and 21 regulations⁵. Although they will be of a variety of types (concerning products, entities and infrastructure), it is clear that the ESAP primarily targets ESG⁶ data to promote sustainable finance.

Access will be open to everyone and most often free of charge. The general public, professionals, NGOs, regulators, consumer associations, academics, public authorities, data providers, etc. will be able to access this information, barring exceptional circumstances, for 10 years. In practical terms, the ESAP should have all the ingredients to offer easy access to information: a user-friendly, multi-language interface, API⁷, multiple search criteria, downloads, data extraction formats that are open and widely used, etc.

Quantity… But above all, quality

However, it is not a matter of simply grouping the scattered information into one place. The quality/accuracy of the information and integrity/credibility of the source will be essential for the ESAP to be considered a reference point.

Due to its contribution to the smooth functioning of financial markets, the ESMA⁸ (one of the three European regulators) will be responsible for establishing and operating the ESAP. On this last point, it will act in close cooperation with the other two regulators (the European Banking Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority).

Regarding the provision of data to the platform, the EC will create a new player, the “collection body”, to serve as a link between the information providers (the “preparers”) and the ESAP. On the list of these collectors, we will find national or European regulators and official mechanisms.