Article 51 Transitional provisions

1.   ESG rating providers which operated in the Union at the date of entry into force of this Regulation shall notify ESMA by 2 August 2026 if they wish to continue operating in the Union and apply for authorisation or recognition in accordance with Title II. In that case, they shall apply for authorisation or recognition within four months of 2 July 2026. In the absence of such an application to ESMA within that four-month period, they shall cease their activities.

2.   After notifying ESMA pursuant to paragraph 1, the ESG rating provider shall be temporarily listed in the register referred to in Article 14 and be permitted, until its application has been approved or denied, to continue operating in the Union, and may endorse an ESG rating provided by an ESG rating provider established outside the Union and belonging to the same group under Article 11.

3.   By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, ESG rating providers categorised as small ESG rating providers, within the meaning of Article 5(1), which operated in the Union at the date of entry into force of this Regulation shall notify ESMA in accordance with Article 5 no later than 2 November 2026 if they wish to continue operating in the Union. In the absence of such notification by that date, they shall cease their activities.