ESMA (European Standards Market Authority)

What is European Standards Market Authority (ESMA)?

ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, was formed in January 2011, and is a European Union financial regulatory agency and European Supervisory Authority, located in Paris.

ESMA works in the field of securities legislation and regulation to improve the functioning of financial markets in Europe, strengthening investor protection and cooperation between national competent authorities.

The idea behind ESMA is to establish an “EU-wide financial markets watchdog.”

As an example of regulations handed down by ESMA, beginning Jan. 1, 2021, they implemented the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) mandate which defines Inline XBRL (iXBRL) as the reporting standard for issuers. For support and additional information, explore our ESEF reporting solutions.