Please find enclosed the current issue of our newsletter. As always, it provides information on a wide range of current regulatory topics in Europe, including the following:

• In the EU, sustainable finance, ESG and the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto assets (MiCAR) continued to be an important topic in the second half of 2023. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published various articles on climate risk stress testing and greenwashing and consulted on draft guidelines for the supervision of sustainability information for listed companies.
• As part of their mandate under the Solvency II Directive, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) launched a consultation on the prudential treatment of sustainability risks. The background to the consultation is the increasing importance of sustainability risks for the investment and insurance activities of insurers.
• Regarding MiCAR, the European Banking Authority (EBA) also consulted on draft technical standards on capital requirements and stress tests for issuers under MiCAR. Together with ESMA, the EBA also published two joint guidelines on the assessment of the suitability of members of management bodies and shareholders with qualifying holdings in issuers of asset reference tokens and crypto-asset service providers.
• In the Czech Republic, the Parliament submitted a bill amending certain laws in connection with the development of the financial market, including new rules on state contributions to supplementary pension schemes and consumer credit.
• In Germany, BaFin published a new section on its website dedicated to ESG issues for the financial sector. The German authority also published an interactive information sheet on sustainable financial products and continues to contribute to a more sustainable future with the adoption of its own sustainable finance strategy from July 2023.
• In Italy, the Italian government and the Bank of Italy focused on the register of beneficial owners (UBO Register). In October 2023, the Italian government published a decree that finally put the UBO Register into operation in Italy. Following this measure, Bank of Italy published a FAQ on the UBO Register, which intends to provide market participants with clarity on the identification of the beneficial owner and the reporting of data to the register.
• In the Netherlands, the implementation of MiCAR is also a hot topic at national level. In December, the Ministry of Finance published its report following the consultation on the draft Implementing Act. In January 2024, the Ministry of Finance then opened two other consultations on MiCAR and Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 on information on crypto-asset transfers and fund transfers.
• Sustainable finance is also an important issue in Romania. The Romanian government has adopted new rules and standards for so-called "ecological" financial instruments that fulfil the criteria of the EU Taxonomy Regulation. The standards require, for example, that independent experts verify compliance with sustainability principles and analyze proposed projects in terms of their environmental compatibility.
• In Spain, Royal Decree 817/2023 was published, which establishes a controlled environment for testing compliance with the proposed Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing harmonized standards on artificial intelligence.

We hope that you will enjoy and benefit from the enhanced insights of the Financial Regulatory Hub Europe. We would very much appreciate your feedback on the new format or thoughts on how we can better meet your needs—we look forward to hearing from you.

Enjoy the read!