Recital 31

(31)ESAP is the first action in the new CMU Action Plan and a concrete realisation of the Digital Finance Strategy. ESAP is thus a major project of common European interest in the field of digital finance. For that reason, as much funding as possible should be sought from the Digital Europe Programme established by Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the Council ¹⁴ , in particular during the early development stages of ESAP, in line with the amounts presented in the Commission Staff Working Document of 25 November 2021. Those funds are allocated to the Commission during the early development of ESAP, with a view to ensuring that ESMA is the ultimate owner of any resulting assets. After the contribution from the Digital Europe Programme has been exhausted, the funding of ESAP should follow the model provided for the funding of ESMA until 31 December 2027. The contributions of competent authorities under that funding model should not exceed a total of EUR 6 968 000. The funding allocation by Member States is, however, not contingent upon a possible overrun of the cost estimates presented in the Commission Staff Working Document of 25 November 2021. The funding of ESAP after December 2027 should be discussed in the appropriate budgetary procedure in the context of the next Multiannual Financial Framework when assessing whether a larger contribution from the Union budget would be appropriate,