Frankfurt, 27 March 2025
The European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS) has issued an urgent letter to Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Mrs. Verena Ross, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), highlighting significant concerns regarding the European Single Access Point (ESAP). EFFAS warns that if key shortcomings are not addressed, ESAP risks failing, thereby threatening the success of the Savings and Investment Union and the broader Capital Markets Union (CMU).
Strong Support for ESAP with Serious Reservations
EFFAS recognizes ESAP’s potential to enhance market transparency, reduce information costs, and improve capital market accessibility. This not only applies to large listed companies but particularly to listed SMEs. The initiative is a crucial step towards the realization of a true CMU, and EFFAS commends the efforts made thus far. However, the organization has identified fundamental flaws in the current ESAP framework that must be urgently addressed.
Critical Shortcomings Undermining ESAP’s Effectiveness
Despite ESAP’s positive intentions, its current structure fails to meet the EU Parliament’s objectives due to:
• Lack of Enforcement of EU-wide Minimum Data Quality Standards: Unlike the U.S., which has successfully mandated structured data validation for over a decade, ESAP leaves data quality enforcement to individual member states, leading to inconsistencies, inefficiencies, and poor market acceptance. EFFAS strongly recommends the creation of an EU-wide Quality Assurance Rules Engine, to be implemented by national collection bodies (OAMs) for standardized submissions.
• Unacceptable Delays in Publishing Capital Market Data: ESAP was designed to reduce reliance on expensive North American data providers. However, the current approach reinforces fragmentation and delays (publishing capital markets data – with a non acceptable delay of up to one hour), failing to position ESAP as a competitive alternative. EFFAS calls for immediate action to streamline access and ensure ESAP’s competitiveness.
• Absence of Mandatory Quarterly XBRL Reporting: The U.S. has required XBRL-format quarterly reports since 2010. The EU’s failure to mandate quarterly
Urgent Action Required
EFFAS urges the European Commission and ESMA to take immediate steps to:
1. Implement a mandatory, EU-wide uniform structured data validation system.
2. Reduce delays in capital market data availability.
3. Introduce quarterly XBRL reporting requirements.
“The success of the Savings and Investment Union heavily depends on a robust and effective ESAP. If these fundamental issues are not addressed, Europe risks falling further behind the U.S. and Asia in financial market competitiveness”, says Thorsten Müller, Member of the EFFAS Board and Cohead of the EFFAS Capital Marktets Commission.
EFFAS remains committed to supporting ESAP’s development and stands ready to collaborate with EU authorities to ensure its successful implementation.
About EFFAS
EFFAS is a Not-for-profit organisation set up in 1962 with 14 national member associations in Europe, representing more than 18,000 Financial analysts, Asset managers, pension fund managers, corporate finance specialists, risk managers, treasurers among many other professional profiles from the investment profession. EFFAS is a certification body for finance with over 27,000 certificate holders worldwide.
For further information, please contact:
Raquel Zaragoza Marti | Managing Director E-mail: raquel.zaragoza@effas.com
Phone Number: +49 69 98959519
