As envisaged by the ESRB, EBA monitored the functioning of the covered bond market by reference to the best practices set out in that recommendation for two years. On the basis of that monitoring, EBA delivered a second opinion and report on covered bonds to the ESRB, to the Council and to the Commission on 20 December 2016 ⁽¹⁰⁾. That report concluded that further harmonisation is necessary to ensure more consistency in terms of definitions and regulatory treatment of covered bonds in the Union. The report further concluded that harmonisation should build on existing well-functioning markets in some Member States.