EIOPA Publishes 2024 Annual Report Highlighting AI, Sustainability, & Supervision Priorities

Key Takeaways

• EIOPA delivered under pressure, maintaining regulatory momentum in 2024 despite geopolitical turmoil, inflation, and limited resources.
• Climate and digital risks took center stage, with major strides in sustainability integration, AI preparedness, and cyber resilience.
• Consumer protection remained a priority, with expanded oversight on conduct risks, value-for-money, and vulnerable populations.
• Simplification without compromise guided EIOPA’s regulatory approach, cutting red tape while reinforcing the need for a strong, rules-based framework.
• EIOPA is aligning with EU priorities, supporting competitiveness and the Savings and Investment Union while upholding long-term financial stability.

Deep Dive

In a year shaped by war, elections, cyber threats, and the steady march of artificial intelligence, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) didn’t just keep pace but it stayed focused. Its newly released 2024 Annual Report tells the story of a regulator under pressure, facing a storm of digital, political, and economic disruption, yet managing to deliver across a wide policy front.

From inflation shocks to climate extremes, 2024 served up no shortage of risks. EIOPA, constrained by tight staffing and limited resources, had every excuse to fall behind. But it didn’t. Instead, it leaned into its mandate, protecting the public interest, supporting Europe’s insurance and pensions supervisors, and helping shore up a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable financial system.

Much of EIOPA’s work this year centered on the long game. While the world fixated on the speed of AI’s advancement, EIOPA focused on the risks lurking beneath the surface. The authority contributed to the EU’s ongoing AI Act discussions, led exercises on cyber crisis response, and worked to ensure that digital innovation doesn't leave consumers behind or vulnerable. It also offered targeted guidance to help national supervisors distinguish between high-risk and low-risk AI use cases, aiming for regulation that’s smart, not stifling.

But 2024 wasn’t just about tech. It was also a year of digging deeper into climate risk. EIOPA launched a new Catastrophe Data Hub and reassessed capital requirements tied to natural catastrophes under Solvency II. At the same time, it urged the Commission to take a harder line on greenwashing, issued its opinion on sustainability claims, and pushed for a more unified approach to climate risk disclosures, streamlining reporting requirements by tying them to frameworks like the CSRD and ESRS. In short: less duplication, more accountability.

The regulator’s efforts extended to the broader mission of making finance work for people. That meant closing protection gaps in pensions, addressing gender disparities, and advocating for better financial inclusion. It also meant sharpening tools that measure how products are sold, not just how they look on paper. EIOPA’s use of mystery shopping exercises and cross-border supervisory platforms were noted as some of the most impactful consumer protection efforts of the year, especially as cross-border business continued to grow across the EU.

And behind all this policy activity was a relentless push for smarter, simpler regulation. EIOPA isn’t chasing deregulation, but it is pushing for proportionality. The Authority cut red tape by reviewing templates, reducing reporting frequencies, and trimming lower-level guidelines. It also proposed moving its insurance sector stress testing to a three-year cycle, reducing the regulatory burden without sacrificing insight.

All of this was delivered while running lean. According to EIOPA’s Board of Supervisors, most planned projects were completed on time or with only minor delays, key performance targets were met, and audits were addressed with transparency. That performance hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Board praised the authority’s ability to prioritize, simplify, and remain credible, even as resource constraints mounted.

Perhaps most telling is EIOPA’s view of what lies ahead. With the European Commission rethinking the Single Market and refocusing on competitiveness and capital market growth, EIOPA has staked its position: simplification is welcome, but not at the expense of a strong regulatory backbone. The Authority plans to work closely with the Commission to unlock Europe’s savings potential, strengthen capital markets, and ensure that long-term resilience remains the foundation for future competitiveness.

In a world of competing crises and compressed timelines, the 2024 Annual Report doesn’t read like a grand victory lap. It’s more grounded than that—measured, methodical, and quietly determined. If anything, it’s a reminder that steady hands still matter. And in Europe’s insurance and pensions sector, EIOPA seems determined to keep both hands on the wheel.

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