Legal & Regulatory News

European Commission requests European Supervisory Authorities propose amendments to SFDR regulatory technical standards

On 6 May 2022, the European Securities and Markets Authority published two letters from the European Commission (the Commission) to the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs).

The first letter (the First Letter) was sent from the Commission to the ESAs on 8 April 2022 and requested that they review and amend the regulatory technical standards (RTS) under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in light of the Commission's formal adoption of the Complementary Climate Delegated Regulation covering nuclear and gas activities on 9 March 2022. The deadline for the ESAs to provide their proposals in response to the First Letter is 30 September 2022.

The second letter, sent on 11 April 2022, requested that the ESAs propose amendments to the RTS under the SFDR (the Second Letter) in relation to the following areas:

• firstly, in relation to the principal adverse impact indicators (PAIs), in particular with a view to: (1) broadening and develop the regulatory framework, (2) considering extending the list of universal indicators for PAIs, as well as other indicators, and (3) refining the content of all the indicators for adverse impacts and their respective definitions, applicable methodologies, metrics and presentation; and
• secondly, in relation to the information to be provided regarding financial products in pre-contractual documents, on websites, and in periodic reports on decarbonisation targets.

In addition, the Commission invited the ESAs to consider whether the provisions in the RTS regarding those financial products referred to in Article 5 and 6 of the Taxonomy Regulation sufficiently addressed the need for disclosure and information on environmentally sustainable economic activities. The deadline for the receipt of the proposed amendments under the Second Letter is 12 months from the date of receipt of the letter.

Click here to read the First Letter.

Click hereto read the Second Letter.