On 4 May 2026, the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (“ECON”) published its draft report (the “Draft Report”) on the European Commission’s proposed overhaul of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR 2.0). The Draft Report includes a draft European Parliament legislative resolution setting out proposed amendments to the European Commission’s November 2025 proposal (“SFDR 2.0 Proposal”). For further information in relation to the SFDR 2.0 proposal, please refer to our note here.

This alert focuses on five key takeaways for private markets firms from the Draft Report.

1. New disclaimer for non-categorised products

The Draft Report reinforces the European Commission’s approach of limiting sustainability-related disclosures for funds that do not fall within SFDR 2.0’s new categorisation regime. While such funds may still include limited references to sustainability factors, these must not be prominent and must not feature in marketing communications or product names.

The Draft Report goes further by requiring an explicit disclaimer confirming that the product does not meet EU sustainability standards.

However, the rapporteur’s explanatory statement makes clear that this approach is primarily designed with retail investors in mind, noting the need “to provide further clarity to investors on the ESG conditions of their financial product” and to ensure that retail investors understand when they are not investing in SFDR-compliant products. For private markets managers, the practical relevance of the disclaimer seems limited.

2. Increased disclosures on sustainability-related engagement strategies

A new addition in the Draft Report is the requirement to disclose sustainability-related engagement strategies where these form part of the investment approach.

Across the categorised product regime, firms would be required to include “a description of the sustainability-related engagement strategy pursued by the financial market participant, including how that strategy has been implemented in alignment with the sustainability-related objectives of the financial product, or a clear and reasoned explanation of why it does not pursue such a strategy”.

For private markets managers – where engagement is often a central element of value creation plans – this introduces a more formalised disclosure expectation and may require greater documentation of engagement processes and outcomes.

3. Mandatory PAI indicators for categorised products

The Draft Report introduces a new prescriptive approach to principal adverse impact (“PAI”) disclosures at fund-level, in contrast to the flexible approach proposed by the European Commission. The Draft Report is, however, consistent with the SFDR 2.0 Proposal that entity-level PAIs are not required.

For all categorised products, the Draft Report proposes that firms will be requiredto use a set of mandatory PAI indicators, supplemented by additional indicators that are “material for the investment”, with the option to include further voluntary metrics. By contrast, non-categorised products would not be subject to these requirements.

The aim is to improve comparability across products within each category. However, the Draft Report does not specify the mandatory indicators themselves, and the concept of “materiality” for voluntary PAIs is not defined either. This represents a departure from the current SFDR framework, which provides greater flexibility in product-level PAI reporting. It also raises open questions regarding how these requirements would operate in practice, and the extent to which mandatory PAIs – where not aligned with the underlying investment strategy – would provide meaningful disclosures.

The Draft Report provides that the PAI indicators will be set out in a delegated act, meaning that there will remain uncertainty as to which PAIs will be considered material even after SFDR 2.0 Level 1 regulation is finalised.

4. Higher EU Taxonomy alignment for “safe harbour”

The “safe harbour” in this context refers to a quantitative threshold that, if met, provides a presumption of compliance with the relevant product category requirements. In other words, where a fund demonstrates that a specified minimum proportion of its investments are EU Taxonomy-aligned, it can rely on that threshold as a clear, objective basis for meeting the criteria applicable to the relevant transition or sustainable category, without needing to rely more heavily on other qualitative justifications.

The Draft Report proposes increasing the EU Taxonomy alignment threshold used as a “safe harbour” from 15% as set out in the SFDR 2.0 Proposal to 20%. This applies across the relevant transition and sustainable categories, where EU Taxonomy-aligned investments are used to demonstrate compliance with the applicable product criteria.

5. Extension to 24 months before coming into force

The Draft Report extends the application period of SFDR 2.0 to 24 months from entry into force (compared to 18 months in the SFDR 2.0 Proposal).

During this period, new delegated acts and disclosure templates for SFDR 2.0 are expected to be developed. ECON also proposes that the two-page maximum disclosures be “suitable for retail investors”, which raises further uncertainty as to how private market managers will be able to present their sustainability-related investment strategies with sufficient depth, and in an appropriate format, for sophisticated institutional and professional investors.

Next steps

The Draft Report will next be presented to the ECON on 3 June 2026, with a tight turnaround for amendments due by 4 June. A Committee vote is currently scheduled for 15 July (subject to confirmation). Following the ECON committee vote, the Draft Report will be submitted to the full European Parliament for a plenary vote, expected in summer or early autumn 2026. Subject to the Parliament adopting its position, trilogue negotiations between the European Parliament, Council and Commission are expected to commence in September 2026. As such, the proposals remain subject to potentially significant change and there is still a considerable way to go before a final SFDR 2.0 framework is agreed. For further information please reach out to ukreg@proskauer.com

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Photo of Anna Maleva-Otto Anna Maleva-Otto

Anna Maleva-­Otto is a Regulatory partner and a member of the Firm’s Private Capital industry group.

Anna advises on a range of UK financial services regulatory matters, including the impact of EU directives and regulations, the establishment and operation of FCA-­regulated businesses in…

Anna Maleva-­Otto is a Regulatory partner and a member of the Firm’s Private Capital industry group.

Anna advises on a range of UK financial services regulatory matters, including the impact of EU directives and regulations, the establishment and operation of FCA-­regulated businesses in the UK, as well as trading on UK and EU markets.

Anna also often assists clients with the design of their compliance policies and procedures, internal investigations and staff training. She frequently participates in industry working groups in connection with new and emerging regulatory initiatives and has advised asset managers on several key pieces of recent EU legislation, including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Short Selling Regulation, Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR), European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) and Securitization Regulation.

Anna has been named among the world’s 50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds by The Hedge Fund Journal and frequently speaks and writes on topics related to her areas of experience. She has previously co-authored the UK chapter in the Chambers Alternative Funds Guide – a guide examining key industry trends and regulatory and tax matters impacting funds, managers and investors.

Photo of John Verwey John Verwey

John Verwey is a Regulatory partner and a member of the Firm’s Private Capital industry group.

John advises on financial services regulatory matters at a national UK and European level. He specializes in advising investment firms, including venture, private equity, credit, and hedge…

John Verwey is a Regulatory partner and a member of the Firm’s Private Capital industry group.

John advises on financial services regulatory matters at a national UK and European level. He specializes in advising investment firms, including venture, private equity, credit, and hedge fund managers as well as institutional managers and advisers, on all aspects of the UK and EU regulatory regimes.

Another key area of focus is advising clients in the financial services sector on mergers and acquisitions, re-organisations and associated regulatory approvals.

John represents a variety of clients that range from small start-up fund managers to established global fund advisers and managers. In The Legal 500, John is noted as “an all-rounder who gets into the details and manages client expectations on navigating tricky regulatory requirements”.

Photo of Rachel Lowe Rachel Lowe

Rachel E. Lowe is a special regulatory counsel in the Corporate Department and a member of the Private Investment Funds Group.

Rachel advises on financial services regulation specializing in sustainable finance and ESG regulation. She has particular expertise in drafting and advising on…

Rachel E. Lowe is a special regulatory counsel in the Corporate Department and a member of the Private Investment Funds Group.

Rachel advises on financial services regulation specializing in sustainable finance and ESG regulation. She has particular expertise in drafting and advising on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the Taxonomy Regulation. Rachel has also supported with EU MiFID and AIFMD sustainability updates for clients, including from a governance and organizational perspective, as well as providing drafting and training support. She also advises on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), including analysis of its applicability for large international group structures.

From a UK perspective, Rachel supports clients with the TCFD-related requirements in the Financial Conduct Authority’s ESG Sourcebook and is increasingly engaged on the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR).

More broadly, Rachel has worked with litigation colleagues to assist clients with understanding and mitigating greenwashing-related legal and regulatory risk.

Photo of Sulaiman Malik Sulaiman Malik

Sulaiman Malik is an associate in the Corporate Department and a member of the Private Funds Group.

Sulaiman advises clients on a range of UK and international financial regulation. He advises private equity funds, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds and other asset managers…

Sulaiman Malik is an associate in the Corporate Department and a member of the Private Funds Group.

Sulaiman advises clients on a range of UK and international financial regulation. He advises private equity funds, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds and other asset managers, as well as banks, FinTechs, broker-dealers and governments.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Sulaiman trained at Simmons & Simmons in London, where he was seconded to Brevan Howard. He has also spent time at the UK’s Ministry of Justice and as an adviser to the Mayor of Brisbane, in Australia.

Sulaiman is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion. He previously worked at Rare, a market-leading diversity consultancy, and provides pro bono legal advice to a range of community and civil rights organizations.

Photo of Edward Lister Edward Lister

Edward Lister is a special regulatory counsel and a member of the Private Equity Transactions and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups.

Edward advises a wide range of stakeholders in the insurance industry, including major insurers and reinsurers, insurance intermediaries, Lloyd’s syndicates and insurtech companies.

Edward Lister is a special regulatory counsel and a member of the Private Equity Transactions and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups.

Edward advises a wide range of stakeholders in the insurance industry, including major insurers and reinsurers, insurance intermediaries, Lloyd’s syndicates and insurtech companies. Edward’s practice has a strong focus on commercial and regulatory insurance matters, and Edward regularly advises clients on FCA, PRA and Lloyd’s rules and procedures, including jurisdictional issues, Solvency II / UK regulation, insurance conduct of business standards, systems and controls for insurers and insurance intermediaries, applications for authorisation and the Senior Managers & Certification Regime.

Adam Frost

Adam Frost is an associate in the Corporate Department and is a member of the Private Funds Group.Adam Frost is an associate in the Corporate Department and is a member of the Private Funds Group.

Photo of Michael Singh Michael Singh

Michael is an associate in the Private Funds Group in the Corporate Department.

Michael advises clients on a variety of regulatory issues both from a UK and European perspective. He also helps clients on fund related transactions. His clients include private equity firms…

Michael is an associate in the Private Funds Group in the Corporate Department.

Michael advises clients on a variety of regulatory issues both from a UK and European perspective. He also helps clients on fund related transactions. His clients include private equity firms, investment managers, FinTech companies and wealth management businesses.

He is dual-qualified as a German lawyer (“Rechtsanwalt”) and Solicitor of England and Wales and previously was in-house counsel at Deutsche Bank.