Learning from Regulatory Sandboxes

A Common Reporting Framework and Joint Thematic Calls for European Innovation Facilitators

A policy brief proposing a common reporting framework and joint thematic calls to help European authorities compare, share, and apply lessons from FinTech regulatory sandboxes.

Author

Affiliation

Alfredo Hernández Sánchez

Vilnius University

Description

This policy brief examines why Europe’s growing use of regulatory sandboxes has not yet produced a comparable body of evidence about what these schemes achieve. Drawing on eleven anonymised primary sources alongside official and academic research, it shows how differences in institutional design, participation, resources, and reporting make headline figures difficult to interpret and lessons difficult to reuse. The brief recommends that the European Forum for Innovation Facilitators and the European Supervisory Authorities introduce a short common reporting framework with instrument-specific modules and pilot joint thematic calls around shared regulatory problems. Together, these measures would strengthen cross-border learning within existing mandates and help emerging AI and other sectoral sandboxes benefit from a decade of FinTech experience.

Key Figure(s)

Figure 1. Innovation facilitation models for FinTech across 30 EU/EEA jurisdictions.

Full Text

Citation

Hernandez Sanchez, A. (2026). Learning from Regulatory Sandboxes: A Common Reporting Framework and Joint Thematic Calls for European Innovation Facilitators. In FIRSA Policy Papers (No. 2026/01). TSMPI.