After long negotiations with the European Council and the European Commission, for amongst others the introduction of XBRL, the European Parliament has voted for the new Transparency Directive – 2011/0307(COD) – in its plenary session of the 12th of June 2013.

The final text of the Transparency Directive was published in the EU Official Journal. Here is the link:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:294:0013:0027:EN:PDF

You can also find the text from the European Parliament in following the link.

In the introduction to the directive (in fact coming from a report), you can find the following paragraph introducing XBRL.

(21a) A harmonised electronic format for reporting would be very beneficial for issuers, investors and competent authorities, since it would make reporting easier and facilitate accessibility, analysis and comparability of annual financial reports. Therefore, preparation of annual financial reports in a single electronic reporting format should be mandatory with effect from 1 January 2020, provided that a cost benefit analysis has been undertaken by ESMA. ESMA should develop draft regulatory standards for adoption by the Commission, to specify the electronic reporting format, with due reference to current and future technological options, such as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). ESMA, when preparing the draft regulatory technical standards, should conduct open public consultations for all stakeholders concerned, make a thorough assessment of the potential impacts of the adoption of the different technological options, and conduct appropriate tests in Member States on which it should report to the Commission when it submits the draft regulatory technical standards. In developing the draft regulatory technical standards on the formats to be applied to banks and financial intermediaries and to insurance companies, ESMA should cooperate regularly and closely with the EBA and the EIOPA, in order to take into account the peculiarities of these sectors, ensuring cross-sectoral consistency of work and reaching joint positions. The European Parliament and the Council should be able to object to the regulatory technical standards in line with Article 13(3) of the ESMA Regulation, in which case these standards shall not enter into force

The text of the directive which mentions this point is the following article:

Article 4 § 7a. With effect from 1 January 2020 all annual financial reports shall be prepared in a single electronic reporting format provided that a cost benefit analysis has been undertaken by ESMA.
ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify the electronic reporting format, with due reference to current and future technological options. Before the adoption of the draft regulatory technical standards, ESMA shall carry out an adequate assessment of possible electronic reporting formats and conduct appropriate field tests. ESMA shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission at the latest by 31 December 2016.

And also concerning the OAMs (the Officially Appointed Mechanisms) the directive is very clear

Article 21a

1. A web portal serving as European electronic access point (“the access point”) shall be established by 1 January 2018. ESMA shall develop and operate the access point.

2. The system of interconnection of officially appointed mechanisms shall be composed of:
– the central storage mechanisms of Member States,
– the portal serving as the European electronic access point.

3. Member States shall ensure the access to their central storage mechanisms via the access point.

And also for the Access to the regulated information

Article 22

Access to regulated information at the Union level

1.  ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards setting technical requirements regarding access to regulated information at the Union level in order to specify the following:

2.  In developing the draft regulatory technical standards, ESMA shall take into account the technical requirements for the system of interconnection of business registers established by the Directive 2012/17 /EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (*).

ESMA shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission by [insert date: two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive].

The EU Member States have 24 months after its publication to Official Journal, to transpose this directive in their country, which means November 2015 most likely.

You can thus see that the calendar written above (2015, 2016, 2018, 2020) and as well the related tasks to implement the whole system, are crystal clear and our XBRL community has with all the stakeholders like the IASB, and others, a strong role to play in it.