ESAs release final standards for ESAP, Europe’s central data hub
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), comprising the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), have published their Final Report on new implementing technical standards (ITS) for the European Single Access Point (ESAP). Released on 29 October, these standards set out the procedures to collect, validate, and share financial and sustainability data through ESAP, designed to provide centralised public access to this essential information across the EU.
The new standards introduce detailed requirements for “collection bodies,” including Officially Appointed Mechanisms, national authorities, and EU agencies, to standardise and validate company data submissions before they enter ESAP. With specific requirements for data format, validation protocols, metadata, and API access, ESAP aims to streamline public access by using structured data format, with a significant focus on XBRL, making financial and sustainability data not only accessible but also easy to integrate and analyse.
ESAP’s role is to support the EU’s broader Savings and Investments Union, (the new name for the “Capital Markest Union”) centralising access to financial and sustainability information. Think of ESAP as the EU’s financial data vault: comprehensive, centralised, and ready to serve anyone that needs seamless access to validated, standardised data. The aim is to avoid long hours of searches through scattered sources. Data will be in one place, structured and validated for precise analysis, insight, and decision-making. Information collection is expected to begin in July 2026, with full public release following in July 2027.
This move towards a fully digital, and significantly XBRL-enabled ecosystem signals a major step forward for European transparency and market efficiency. The continent has suffered from data silos for a very long time. The ESAs’ emphasis on data quality and accessibility makes this a technical step towards a future of seamless, reliable and centralised digital reporting. A focus on timeliness, quality and coverage will turn it into a reality.
Read the full report to see more.
