EU RIS View - October 2025

The third round of RIS trilogues took place on Tuesday, 23 September. Below, we provide a summary of the discussions and their current status. A Council Working Party (CWP) meeting is scheduled for Monday, 13 October, with the next trilogue planned for Tuesday, 21 October. In preparation, the Danish Presidency (PCY) has issued its working documents, and we have summarised their positions below.

Value for Money (VfM)

Status: No agreement reached yet.

Third trilogue: Discussions focused on the Commission’s proposed legal drafting for VfM. Progress was limited, with the Parliament still reviewing the Commission’s suggestions. The Council reiterated its preference for broader supervisory benchmarks and expressed openness to restricting peer grouping to UCITS only. The Commission, however, maintained its stance that benchmarks should be publicly available and applied uniformly across product groups, which contrasts with the PCY’s position. The only area of consensus was the need for maximum clarity at Level 1.

PCY position: Notably, VfM is absent from the CWP agenda..

Inducements

Status: No agreement reached yet.

Third trilogue: There was general consensus on the need to simplify the inducements test. Discussions explored the relationship between the inducements test, the best interest test, and disclosures. The PCY emphasised that Member States should retain the ability to impose stricter national rules on inducements, a key issue for many Member States.

PCY position: The PCY supports retaining the current four inducement test criteria under MiFID and IDD and has reinstated the former criterion “g” from the Council’s position. It also proposes removing the requirement to review inducements provisions

Client Categorisation

Status: No agreement yet, but some progress has been made.

Third trilogue: The co-legislators appear to be nearing an agreement, with convergence around:

• Three alternative criteria for transaction frequency: 15 transactions annually over three years; 30 transactions in the past year; or five transactions of at least €100,000 in unlisted companies in the past year.
• Reducing the wealth threshold to €250,000.
• An exemption for managers and directors involved in investment decision-making.

The Commission will draft legal proposals to reflect these points, which may be considered at the next trilogue.

Client journey

Status: No agreement reached yet.

Third trilogue: While the co-legislators agreed that the framework requires simplification, no detailed compromises were reached. The PCY advocated for:

• Eliminating the best interest test entirely.
• Strengthening the suitability assessment by incorporating portfolio diversification.
• Simplifying the appropriateness test.
• Removing the proposed new reports and warnings.

The Commission acknowledged the value of streamlining the suitability and best interest tests but opposed the complete removal of the best interest test.

Disclosures

Status: No agreement reached yet

PCY position: The PCY proposes removing risk warnings altogether. If Member States oppose this, it suggests:

1. Retaining the Council mandate for ESAs to monitor risk warnings.

2. Opposing risk warnings for “complex” products, arguing that complexity does not inherently equate to increased risk.

3. Maintaining the Council mandate for ESAs to develop RTS on the concept and content of particularly risky products.

PRIIPs

Status: No agreement reached yet

PCY position: The Council broadly supports retaining the “Product at a Glance” section and including both past performance and performance scenarios in the KID. The PCY recommends removing the voluntary interactive tool but is open to it if the associated burdens are minimal. It opposes introducing an online comparator tool, citing limited value and overlap with ESAP.

Undue costs

Status: No agreement reached yet

PCY position: Although this is an initial discussion in the Council, the PCY is optimistic about reaching a swift agreement, aligning with the European Parliament’s (EP) position on the definition of undue costs. It is seeking Member State input on whether to retain the EP’s proportionality provision.

Supervision

Status: Provisional agreement reached on authorisation procedures.

Third trilogue: The provisional agreement includes:

• Aligning EIOPA’s collaboration platform powers under IDD with Solvency II, with a reduced role for ESMA.
• Limiting information notifications to withdrawals (not refusals) of authorisation.
• Excluding additional anti–forum shopping provisions.
• A Commission review of third-country rules under IDD within three years.

PCY position: The PCY agrees with the Council and Commission that reporting for cross-border activity should only apply above a certain client threshold.

What's Next?

The CWP will meet on Monday, 13 October, with discussions on VfM, inducements, and the client journey continuing at the next trilogue on Tuesday, 21 October. The earliest possible publication of Level 1 text is Q4 2025, with rules potentially coming into effect in 2027. However, much depends on the extent of internal disagreements among the Council’s Member States regarding simplification. Before the Council can negotiate with the Parliament and Commission, it must first reach an internal consensus.

For earlier background, you may want to read our earlier RIS Views which can be found on our RIS Hub Page.

We'll keep you updated as we hear more.