Report on Simplification of EU Financial Law

This Report, prepared by the Academic Board of the European Banking Institute (EBI), examines the growing complexity of EU financial regulation across banking, capital markets, payments, and insurance, including cross-sectoral areas such as AML/CFT, digital finance, and sustainable finance. It develops a structured methodology for regulatory simplification, explicitly distinguishing it from deregulation. The Report identifies both internal drivers of complexity (institutional asymmetries, erosion of the Lamfalussy process, legislative fragmentation, proliferation of soft law) and external drivers (international financial standards, technological innovation, ESG integration, data governance). It argues that simplification should be understood as a methodological and architectural exercise aimed at rationalising legal sources, stabilising definitions and taxonomies, and improving coherence across sectors and regulatory levels—while preserving substantive safeguards and financial stability. The Report concludes with policy proposals encompassing institutional, substantive, and procedural dimensions, including restoring the hierarchy of sources, comprehensive taxonomic revision, and systematic mapping of applicable rules.