What was the ECB High-Level Task Force on Simplification?

The ECB’s Governing Council created the High-Level Task Force on Simplification in March 2025 to develop proposals for simplifying the European regulatory, supervisory and reporting framework, while still maintaining a strong banking sector in Europe.

The task force’s creation came amid an ongoing global debate about the complexity of financial rules and regulation, and its focus was consistent with the European Commission’s overall initiative on simplification.

The task force’s recommendations were endorsed by the Governing Council.

The proposals for simplification are outlined in the report, Simplification of the European prudential regulatory, supervisory and reporting framework, which was published on 11 December 2025.

The recommendations cover three main areas: the regulatory framework, the supervisory framework and the reporting framework.

The proposals maintain the current level of resilience of the European banking sector, uphold international cooperation by complying with global standards, and call for full, timely and faithful implementation of the Basel III standards in all jurisdictions. They also ensure the frameworks remain effective in meeting prudential objectives, and they have a European perspective aimed at fostering increased harmonisation across Member States. 

What happens next?

The proposals in the report have been presented to the European Commission, which intends to publish a report in 2026 on the overall situation of the banking system in the Single Market, including an evaluation of the banking sector’s competitiveness, as announced in its Communication on a savings and investments union.