PANews reported on December 9th that EU Financial Services Commissioner Maria Louise Albuquerque stated on Tuesday that the EU hopes to begin implementing its comprehensive capital market integration reform package by 2027, providing guidance on the timeline for the reforms for the first time. "We should push forward the discussion and approval of this package as soon as possible; ideally, it would be very good if it could be launched in 2027." Last week, the European Commission announced plans to grant its market regulator, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), greater supervisory and enforcement powers as part of a series of measures to integrate fragmented capital markets. The proposal still needs approval from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, and has faced strong opposition from some member states. Centralized regulatory powers will bring important clearinghouses, central securities depositories, and trading platforms under ESMA's jurisdiction, and cryptocurrency companies will also be regulated by ESMA. The EU has also pledged a comprehensive review of banking regulatory rules by the end of next year, and the European Central Bank will publish proposals to simplify banking supervision on Thursday; these will be incorporated into the European Commission's overall reform efforts.