COMMISSION - LETTER TO CYPRUS AND 18 MEMBER STATES DUE TO DELAY IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY PLATFORM - Filenews 27/3
The European Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to 19 EU Member States, including Cyprus, for not implementing the new European Corporate Transparency Platform (ESAP), which aims to create a single digital access point for corporate information in the EU.
According to the letter sent on Friday, the Commission gives two months for compliance, otherwise the infringement procedure can proceed to the next stage with a reasoned opinion. The delay concerns the incorporation of the Directive regulating the ESAP platform, which will bring together corporate information from all member states in a standardized format, enhancing transparency and cross-border flow of capital.
ESAP is expected to improve the accessibility and comparability of data, making it more actionable for investors and enhancing transparency in the market. For countries like Cyprus, which depend on financial services and international investment, the functioning of ESAP is seen as crucial for maintaining market competitiveness and credibility.
The delay in implementation mainly concerns technical adaptation, as a change in the way companies and supervisors submit data to ESAP is required. This change covers various areas of European legislation and affects at least 15 different Directives, covering from accounting reporting to markets in financial instruments and banks.
The implementation of ESAP will evolve gradually, with the first phase being activated in July 2026, when companies under key transparency regimes will start reporting to the platform. In the next stages, more data will be added, with the aim of gathering around 200 subsets of information from dozens of legislative acts.
This plan is directly linked to the wider effort to integrate European capital markets and strengthen the financing of businesses in the EU.
