The delegated acts are the first of a series to complement and complete the EU regulatory frameworks on cybersecurity matters for the financial sector and cryptoassets.

Part A of the best practices report covers the observations and best practices from the early stages of setting up the sandbox and communicating it publicly, through the first applications phase and selection of the first cohort of use cases, to the outreach to regulators and authorities, and the beginning of the first set of dialogues.

The aim of the project is to "provide a framework for regulators, supervising authorities and blockchain innovators to engage in regulatory dialogue, identify obstacles from a legal and regulatory perspective in a safe and confidential environment", and thus increase "legal certainty for innovative decentralized technology solutions, including blockchain". The Sandbox allows regulators and supervisors to "enhance their knowledge of cutting edge blockchain technologies".

It will ensure that people and businesses have an additional choice – on top of current private options – that allows them "to pay digitally with a widely accepted, cheap, secure and resilient form of public money in the euro area." 

If the proposal to establish the legal framework for the digital euro is adopted by the European Parliament and Council, it will ultimately be for the European Central Bank to decide if and when to issue the digital euro.

The Commission also set out a legislative proposal on the legal tender of euro cash to "safeguard the role of cash, ensure it is widely accepted as a means of payment and remains easily accessible for people and businesses across the euro area."

The European Commission published the following information:

Legislative proposals and related documents -

• Timeline of the initiative and stakeholder's feedback
• Proposal for a Regulation on the establishment of the digital euro
  • Annexes to the proposal for a Regulation on the establishment of the digital euro
• Proposal for a Regulation on the provision of digital euro services by payment services providers incorporated in Member States whose currency is not the euro
• Impact assessment accompanying the proposals
• Summary of the impact assessment accompanying the proposals
• JRC research update: Potential impact of digital euro on banks' balance sheets and profitability
• Related proposal on a legal tender of euro cash

Press information -

• Press release
• Frequently asked questions
• Factsheet: The euro - Single currency package

According to the press release, the new EU Directive will provide for:

• "Direct access to bank account information across the Union: Law enforcement authorities and Asset Recovery Offices will have direct access to bank account information across the Union, through the single access point interconnecting bank account registries. This will enable the authorities to identify the banks in which suspects hold their accounts. Data protection safeguards will ensure that only limited information on the identity of the bank account holder would be made available.
• A common format for transaction records: the Directive will establish a common format for banks and crypto companies to provide the information on transactions – i.e., transaction records – to law enforcement authorities. The specifics of the format will be defined in an implementing act. Access to this information will be granted in accordance with national rules and procedural safeguards."

For further information, see the Proposal for a Directive on the access of competent authorities to centralised bank account registries through the single access point; and the staff working document.

One of the Commission's three key objectives of the 2020 Capital Markets Union Action Plan was to make the EU a safer place for citizens to invest in the long term. 

The package includes wide-ranging measures to:  

• "Improve the way information is provided to retail investors about investment products and services, in ways that are more meaningful and standardised, by adapting disclosure rules to the digital age and investors' growing sustainability preferences;
• Increase transparency and comparability of costs by requiring the use of a standard presentation and terminology on costs.
• Ensure all retail clients receive at least annually a clear view of the investment performance of their portfolio; 
• Address potential conflicts of interest in the distribution of investment products by banning inducements for "execution-only” sales (i.e. where no advice is provided) and ensuring that financial advice is aligned with retail investors' best interests. Stricter safeguards and transparency will also be introduced where inducements are allowed;
• Protect retail investors from misleading marketing by ensuring that financial intermediaries are fully responsible for the use (and misuse) of their marketing communication, including where it is made via social media, or via celebrities or other third parties they remunerate or incentivise.
• Preserve high standards of professional qualifications for financial advisors.
• Empower consumers to make better financial decisions by encouraging Member States to implement national measures that can support citizens' financial literacy, regardless of their age, and social and educational background.
• Reduce administrative burdens and improve the accessibility of products and services for sophisticated retail investors, by making the eligibility criteria to become a professional investor more proportionate.
• Enhance supervisory cooperation to make it easier for national competent authorities and European Supervisory Authorities to ensure that rules are properly and effectively applied in a coherent manner across the EU and to jointly fight fraud and malpractices." 

The package is wide-ranging in scope and touches on the entire investment journey of the consumer. It consists of an amending Directive, which revises the existing rules set out in the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), the Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Directive, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers  Directive (AIFMD), and the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance Directive (Solvency II), as well as an amending Regulation, which revises the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) Regulation.

The Commission also published Q&As on the Retail Investment Package and a Factsheet.

Based on a Commission proposal, the new rules complement the Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCA) and transfer in funds Regulation, and are consistent with the OECD initiative on the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework.

The Directive will "improve Member States’ ability to detect and counter tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance", by requiring "all cryptoasset providers based in the EU – irrespective of their size – to report transactions of clients residing in the EU." 

The updated Directive has been extended in scope to include reporting obligations of "financial institutions regarding e-money and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the automatic exchange of information on advance cross-border rulings used by natural persons."

The new reporting requirements on cryptoassets, e-money and CBDCs will enter into force on 1 January 2026.

The proposal will address a number of key elements: legal tender status, financial stability, privacy, anti-money laundering requirements, international use and distribution of the digital euro.