ESAP in Cyprus in 2026: New Disclosure Rules

What is ESAP?

Cyprus is beginning to prepare the legislative framework to connect to the European Single Access Point (ESAP)—a unified European system for accessing corporate, financial, and sustainability-related information. The project's primary objective is to enable investors, analysts, and other users to locate information about companies from various EU countries through a single digital portal.

On September 7, the Cypriot parliamentary committee on finance began reviewing a package of 12 bills. Their aim is to align national legislation with EU Directive 2023/2864, which mandates the integration of European countries into the new information disclosure system.

How the unified system will work

ESAP is being established under EU Regulation 2023/2859 and will be managed by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Notably, the system does not impose any new obligations on businesses to disclose additional information.

ESAP will centralize data that companies are already required to publish under European regulations. Additionally, organizations will be able to voluntarily submit certain information in specified cases.

Currently, information about European companies is scattered across the organizations' own websites, national registers, regulators' databases, and various specialized repositories. Once ESAP launches, users will be able to search a much broader dataset from a single source.

The system will ingest, among other things, annual financial reports, audit opinions, and—where applicable—sustainability reports and supporting documentation.

Who will submit data in Cyprus?

A key feature of ESAP is its multi-tiered architecture. Companies will not submit documents directly to ESMA themselves. Instead, information will first go to national collection bodies before being transmitted to the pan-European system.

In Cyprus, the plan involves distributing these functions among several regulators. For financial institutions, the relevant authority will be the Central Bank of Cyprus, while for investment firms, it will be the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

When ESAP Goes Live

The project is already in the implementation phase. ESMA began data collection on July 10, 2026. In the initial stage, the system covers information disclosed under the Transparency Directive, the Prospectus Regulation, and the Short Selling Regulation.

Users are expected to gain access to the portal no later than July 10, 2027. Subsequently, the scope of available data will be expanded in stages between 2028 and 2030.

What This Means for Cypriot Companies

Cypriot companies will not be required to register separately with ESAP. However, it is crucial for businesses to determine in advance which European disclosure requirements apply to them and through which national authority the relevant data must be submitted.

IT-OFFSHORE provides comprehensive support for business registration and structuring in Cyprus, helping clients navigate corporate and regulatory requirements, as well as select the optimal jurisdiction and operating model in compliance with European legislation.