EU supervisors' joint 2027 programme puts DORA and new technology first

Serguey Asael Shinder14 October 2026, 09:422 min read

The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities — the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) — published its Annual Work Programme for 2027 on 13 October 2026. The programme covers the areas where the three authorities say cooperation is essential: financial stability, consumer protection and effective supervision across sectors.

The listed priorities. The ESAs name five: digital operational resilience, technological innovation, sustainable finance, securitisation and cross-sectoral risk monitoring.

DORA is the operational centre. Under the Digital Operational Resilience Act, the ESAs will continue their oversight of critical ICT third-party service providers and their work on the financial sector's preparedness against cyber threats.

Technology without a named framework. The Joint Committee says it will assess the implications of technological developments, explicitly including the growing use of artificial intelligence and "other digital innovations". The press release does not single out crypto-assets or MiCA; for crypto firms, the relevant line in this document is the general commitment on digital innovation.

Consumers and sustainability. Consumer protection stays a "central priority", with joint work on issues affecting retail consumers. In sustainable finance the committee will keep supporting consistent application of the EU sustainability framework across sectors.

The political frame. The programme is presented as supporting the European Commission's Savings and Investment Union and its simplification agenda — more effective regulation and supervision "while reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens". The same page links recent joint ESA work that fits the programme, including a call for vigilance over external dependencies, cyber threats and private credit risks, and a call for stronger governance of ICT risks from frontier AI models in the financial sector.

The full Joint Committee Annual Work Programme 2027 is published alongside the announcement.

Source: ESMA, "European Supervisory Authorities set priorities for 2027" — https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/european-supervisory-authorities-set-priorities-2027