The horizon scanner identifies and summarises key EU legislative and non-legislative initiatives that are likely to impact firms providing financial services in the EU, which are grouped thematically.

It also sets out projected timelines for the finalisation and implementation of relevant legislative initiatives, covering approximately the next 18 months to two years.

This horizon scanner has been prepared as of January 2020. It does not constitute legal advice and is not intended to provide an exhaustive list of all provisions or requirements applicable to such firms during this period.

Today’s regulatory landscape

Following the financial crisis and resulting G20 commitments, the EU embarked on an unprecedented and wide-ranging set of regulatory reforms, including new rules to strengthen financial supervision, tools for bank recovery and resolution, more effective deposit protection and an improved regulatory framework for banks, insurance, securities markets and other sectors.

Just over decade later, this project is now largely complete, with the last major legislative measure of the post-crisis regulatory agenda, MiFID2, which started to apply in early 2018.

More recently, attention has turned to fine-tuning the EU financial services regulatory framework with the adoption of targeted follow-up actions, ensuring that regulation keeps pace with technological development, and completion of the Banking Union and Capital Markets Union.

A new European Commission

The new European Commission took office in December 2020, headed by President von der Leyen. Executive Vice President Dombrovskis will be responsible for the Commission’s financial services agenda and has already made a number of policy commitments, identifying areas of focus where the Commission intends to propose new legislation. These policy priorities include an invigorated effort to build a Capital Markets Union and to complete the Banking Union, a well as commitments to introduce new legislation regulating stablecoins (including Libra) and various actions under the EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan. More broadly, Von der Leyen has also indicated she will propose legislation in her first 100 days in office:

• for a coordinated European approach on the human and ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence; and
• on making Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050.

New European Commission financial services priorities

Commission President-elect von der Leyen’s mission letter to Executive Vice-President-designate Dombrovskis outlines the following priorities for financial services: