The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said that enabling sustainable finance and the effective use of data are top priorities for 2023.
By the end of 2023, ESMA said it planned to build the remaining technical standards under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and work to better understand and fight against greenwashing.
ESMA’s 2023 Annual Work Programme is the first to be developed under the regulator’s 2023-2028 strategy.
Key to the coming year’s programme is an adaptation to financial-markets digitalisation and enhancing access to, and quality of, supervisory data.
It also hopes to develop technical standards and guidelines for new regulations around digital finance, notably the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), the Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) and the DLT Pilot Regime.
The authority will also introduce a range of reports on the costs and charges facing retail investors and will improve technical standards on authorisation and registration of benchmark providers, as mandated under the CCP Recovery and Resolution Regulation.
ESMA will also place greater emphasis on monitoring market developments to assess risks, including the impacts of inflation and rising interest rates on financial markets.
Verena Ross, ESMA chair, said: “Considering the current challenging market conditions, ESMA will continue close monitoring of financial markets, including CCPs [central securities depositores]. In that context, and linked to measures for tackling the current energy crisis, we also expect to conduct work to review and clarify the existing rules for these markets.
“In 2023 ESMA will be taking on new responsibilities in regulating the impact of new technology on financial markets via mandates under DORA, MiCA and the DLT regime.”
ESMA will continue to supervise several key market infrastructures with a view to fostering effective markets and financial stability in the EU, she added.
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