EFRAG launches the multilingual VSME digital template for sustainability reporting by European SMEs

A few months after the publication of the European Commission’s VSME Recommendation (July 2025), EFRAG announced the release of a new version of the VSME Digital Template and the related XBRL taxonomy, introducing a feature particularly awaited by the market: multi-language support.

This update follows the initial release of May 2025 and incorporates both the minor changes introduced by the European Commission and a series of technical and functional improvements that emerged from feedback provided by users of the model.

A decisive step towards the accessibility of VSME reporting

The main innovation concerns the possibility to select the display language of the template and to generate sustainability reports in Inline XBRL format in multiple languages. In addition to English, the VSME Digital Template and the Digital Template–XBRL converter now support Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian and Portuguese.

The translations were prepared directly by EFRAG and validated by the National Standard Setters of the respective countries, ensuring technical and terminological consistency. Other national bodies – including those of Germany and Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, France and Italy – are currently finalising their language versions. A new release, which will also include these languages, is expected at the beginning of November 2025.

The objective is clear: to reduce language barriers and make the VSME model genuinely usable by SMEs across all EU Member States.

Technical improvements and open-source resources

Alongside the multi-language functionality, the update includes several technical refinements and fixes, resulting from feedback received from users and market stakeholders. All materials are now available in a single dedicated space, including:

• the updated VSME Digital Template
• the explanatory notes
• a detailed change log
• the source code and demo files

Making the project available under an open-source license represents a strategic element: it allows digital solution providers to freely integrate VSME tools into their own services, fostering the spread of interoperable and low-cost solutions for SMEs.

The VSME outreach event

The dissemination of the VSME also continues through direct engagement with the market. On 6 October 2025, EFRAG and the European Commission presented digital solutions for SMEs in a dedicated panel as part of a VSME-specific outreach event, addressed to companies, financial market participants and solution providers.

The introduction of the multi-language template thus marks a further step towards more accessible, proportionate and genuinely European sustainability reporting, in line with the needs of SMEs and with the EU’s objectives of simplifying the regulatory framework.