Italian Sustainable Investment Forum
New developments concerning the Omnibus Simplification Package. Presentation of several documents by ESMA.
In recent weeks, new updates have emerged regarding the Omnibus Simplification Package, and ESMA has released several interesting documents.
Updates on Omnibus
The ECON and ENVI Committees of the European Parliament have requested an extension of the scrutiny period for the draft delegated act amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178, which supplements the Taxonomy Regulation. The delegated act, adopted by the Commission in July 2025, introduces various simplification measures, for example, reducing the number of data points to be reported in the templates (-64% for non-financial companies and -89% for financial companies). The extension – which allows the text to be reviewed until 5 January 2026 – creates uncertainty about the timing, as the new measures are scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2026.
2025 sustainability report review
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published the results of an analysis of 91 reports published in the first cycle of application of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) in 2025. The report presents an overall positive picture, though some aspects need improvement. In particular, the analysis shows that about 61.7% of issuers met the disclosure target required by requirement IRO-1, providing an adequate explanation of their materiality assessment process. 80% described the materiality thresholds or criteria adopted, while 70% illustrated the data sources and stakeholder engagement. However, ESMA notes that many disclosures are standardised (“boilerplate”) and do not provide substantive information on the judgments made regarding the materiality of Impacts, Risks and Opportunities (IRO). Based on the results, ESMA invites companies, among other things, to avoid generic disclosures in their descriptions of their materiality assessment processes. Furthermore, in connection with the planned revision of the ESRS, it is suggested that the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) promote issuer-specific disclosures and ensure consistency between material IROs, thematic disclosures, and Policies, Actions and Targets (PATs), possibly by introducing a summary table.
2025 enforcement priorities
Another ESMA publication concerns the new European Common Enforcement Priorities (ECEP) for the 2025 annual reports of listed companies. This document urges issuers, auditors, and supervisory bodies to maintain high standards of quality in corporate reporting, ensuring consistency, transparency, and compliance with applicable rules. Regarding sustainability reports, ESMA acknowledges the difficulties of implementing the rules in an evolving regulatory context but reaffirms two cornerstones: a correct materiality assessment and a clear, readable, and coherent report structure. Overall, the 2025 ECEP marks a further step towards the effective integration of financial and sustainability reporting.
2026 work programme
ESMA has also shared its 2026 work programme, setting the objective of integrating sustainability while improving efficiency and reducing the burden on market participants. One of the most significant novelties in the programme is that, starting in 2026, ESMA will assume new authorisation and supervision tasks in the ESG field. In particular, the Authority will begin supervising ESG rating providers, which, as of July 2026, will be required to register with ESMA and comply with the governance, methodological transparency, and analytical independence requirements laid down by the new EU regulation.
From June 2026, ESMA will take over supervision of the external reviewers of European green bonds (i.e., the actors that certify compliance of the issuances with the rules of the European Green Bond Standard (EUGBs)). In this regard, standards for reviewers have been published, introducing new measures on systems, resources and procedures, compliance function, administrative and IT procedures, data quality and reliability, recognition of non-EU entities, notifications of changes. The European Commission will formally adopt the standards via delegated regulation.
Finally, in 2026, ESMA plans to complete the first phase of the European Single Access Point (ESAP), the European unified portal for access to companies’ financial and sustainability information.
