The European Banking Authority has published an opinion for the European Commission on proposed changes to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, raising concerns about some reporting reliefs being made permanent.
The standards — known as ESRS — set out what companies must disclose on sustainability matters under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the EBA said in a statement on Wednesday.
The draft amended rules were developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and are intended to simplify the initial set of standards.
The EBA stated it recognised progress in “streamlining and clarifying” parts of the original standards and supported an approach intended to reduce reporting compliance costs.
However, it said institutions should continue to analyse sustainability-related risks and recommended time limits for some of the proposed alleviations.
The EBA warned that the cumulative effect of the reliefs could significantly reduce the amount of quantitative information companies report, shifting work on to users of the information — including banks — which may need to seek data directly from counterparties for risk management.
Concerns over time-limited reliefs and international alignment
Companies within scope of the revised CSRD — typically the largest and best-resourced — should be capable of meeting the requirements, the EBA said.
It added that granting reliefs without adequate time limits could weaken interoperability with international sustainability standards and increase burdens for financial institutions using the data.
The European Commission has also requested opinions from the European Securities and Markets Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, the European Central Bank and the EBA.
EFRAG was asked by the Commission in 2025 to provide technical advice on simplifying the first set of ESRS, and published the draft amended standards on 3 December 2025 after a public consultation during summer 2025.
