EU financial services legislation - How long is the legislative process?

27 January 2022

The European Commission’s ‘Level 1’ financial services legislative pipeline is filling up, with more proposals expected this year. Understanding the likely length of the Level 1 legislative process is important for firms’ engagement with the process and planning for eventual implementation.

The timing of the legislative process for the Level 1 regulations and directives adopted so far in the Commission’s 2019-24 term may not be a good guide to the likely length of the legislative process for the pending proposals. A better guide may be found in the timing of the legislative process of the legislation adopted during the full term of the 2014‑19 Commission.

This briefing summarises the EU legislative pipeline for financial services and reviews the length of the legislative process for legislation adopted during the current and previous terms of the European Commission.

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