On 4 April 2025, ESMA had already given several companies provisional “green light” status as External Reviewers within the meaning of Articles 69 and 70 of the EuGB Regulation (see TSI kompakt of 4 April 2025). However, at that time the authorisation and registration procedures conducted by ESMA for these reviewers had not yet been fully completed. Final adoption of several Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) and Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) was still required.
Finalisation of the Technical Standards
ESMA presented the corresponding final drafts on 15 October 2025. These cover key aspects of the system for independent External Reviewers supervised by ESMA (officially: “External Reviewer”), in particular:
- Criteria for assessing the appropriateness, adequacy and effectiveness of the systems, resources and procedures
- Criteria for assessing whether the compliance function has the authority to discharge its responsibilities properly and independently and for assessing the necessary resources, expertise and access to relevant information
- Criteria for assessing the soundness of administrative and accounting procedures and internal control mechanisms and the effectiveness of control and safeguard arrangements for information processing systems
- Criteria for assessing whether the information used when providing reviews is of sufficient quality and from reliable sources
- Information, format, and content of applications for recognition
- Standard forms, templates, and procedures
- to notify ESMA of material changes in the information provided at registration
Consultation and Next Steps
The final drafts—five RTS and one ITS—are based on the results of an eight-week consultation held from 7 April to 30 May 2025. The aim was to explain the rationale behind the proposals and to gather comments from stakeholders.
Once the final drafts have been adopted by the European Commission and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, they will enter into force 20 days later. The transitional regime, which allows for provisional authorisation as External Reviewers, is limited until 21 June 2026. It is expected that by then it will be replaced by ESMA’s final authorisation and registration procedure.