EU Financial Supervisors Set 2027 Priorities as ESMA Sharpens Focus on Corporate Reporting

Key Takeaways

• EU Supervisory Priorities for 2027: The EBA, EIOPA and ESMA will focus their joint work on digital operational resilience, artificial intelligence, sustainable finance, consumer protection and cross-sectoral risks.
• Continued DORA Oversight: The authorities will maintain oversight of critical ICT third-party service providers and work to strengthen the financial sector’s preparedness against cyber threats.
• ESMA Sets Corporate Reporting Priorities: The regulator identified geopolitical uncertainty, restructuring provisions and debt restructuring as key areas for listed companies preparing their 2026 IFRS financial statements.
• Sustainability and Digital Reporting: ESMA will focus on materiality assessments, connected sustainability disclosures under ESRS and common filing errors under ESEF.
• Regulatory Simplification: Both announcements support efforts to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens while maintaining effective supervision, investor protection and financial stability.

Deep Dive

The European Union’s three financial supervisory authorities have set out their joint priorities for 2027, with cyber resilience, artificial intelligence and sustainable finance among the principal areas of work. The program comes alongside new guidance from the EU’s securities regulator identifying the financial and sustainability reporting issues that listed companies should address in their 2026 annual reports.

Both announcements were issued on October 13, bringing together the authorities’ longer-term supervisory plans and more immediate expectations for corporate disclosures.

The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities, comprising the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), said its 2027 work would concentrate on risks and regulatory questions requiring cooperation across banking, insurance and securities markets.

Digital operational resilience remains a priority. Under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), the authorities will continue overseeing critical information and communication technology (ICT) third-party service providers and working to strengthen the financial sector’s preparedness against cyber threats.

The work builds on DORA’s framework for managing technology risks in financial services, including risks arising from reliance on external providers. The Joint Committee will also examine the implications of artificial intelligence and other digital innovations as their use within the financial sector grows.

Consumer protection remains part of the programme, with the authorities planning further joint work on issues affecting retail financial consumers. Their stated objectives include helping consumers make informed financial decisions and maintaining confidence in EU financial markets.

The committee will also continue supporting consistent application of the EU’s sustainable finance framework, alongside work on securitisation and the monitoring of risks that extend across financial sectors.

ESMA Identifies Reporting Priorities for Listed Companies

In a separate announcement the same day, ESMA published its European Common Enforcement Priorities for the 2026 annual financial reports of listed issuers, identifying matters that companies, auditors and national supervisors should consider during the reporting and review process.

For financial statements prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), ESMA identified geopolitical risks and uncertainties, restructuring provisions and debt restructuring as areas warranting particular attention.

The priorities reflect reporting questions that can affect how companies account for financial obligations and explain uncertainties in their financial statements. Issuers are expected to consider the matters relevant to their circumstances rather than treat the priorities as an identical set of disclosure requirements for every company.

Sustainability reporting forms another part of ESMA’s enforcement priorities. For statements prepared under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), the regulator is focusing on continued progress in applying materiality assessments and the presentation of connected information.

That includes the relationship between a company’s identified impacts, risks and opportunities, its policies, actions and targets, and the metrics used to report on them. ESMA is asking issuers to consider how these elements are presented together in their sustainability statements.

The regulator also identified a technical reporting concern under the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF), drawing attention to common filing errors in the statement of changes in equity.

Alongside the enforcement priorities, ESMA published the 31st extract from its Financial Reporting Working Group database of enforcement decisions, formerly associated with the European Enforcers Coordination Sessions. The extract contains seven decisions concerning the application of IFRS Accounting Standards and ESMA’s Guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures.

ESMA said issuers, auditors and supervisory bodies should apply the recommendations where relevant, taking account of their materiality and the circumstances of the issuer.

Simplification Remains Part of the Supervisory Agenda

Both announcements place regulatory simplification alongside continued supervisory scrutiny. ESMA reaffirmed its commitment to reducing unnecessary reporting burdens while maintaining investor protection and market stability. It also emphasized the importance of materiality assessments in determining what information companies should disclose.

The Joint Committee’s 2027 programme supports the European Commission’s objectives for the Savings and Investments Union and its broader effort to make financial regulation and supervision more effective. The authorities have identified reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens as part of that work.

The two publications serve different purposes. The Joint Committee’s programme establishes areas of cooperation among the three supervisory authorities for 2027, while ESMA’s enforcement priorities address the preparation and review of listed companies’ 2026 annual reports. But together, they identify work ahead for financial institutions, listed issuers, auditors and supervisors, from oversight of critical technology providers to the treatment of geopolitical uncertainty and sustainability information in corporate reporting.

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