EU aims to make investing easier for citizens and businesses: Know more

The European Commission has unveiled its new Savings and Investments Union strategy, aimed at strengthening the EU‘s financial system by effectively channelling savings into productive investments.

This initiative aims to optimise financial resources within the union and promote economic growth across member states.

This will create more diverse opportunities for individuals and businesses, particularly sustainable ones.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, says, “With today’s proposal for a Savings and Investment Union we are achieving a double win. Households will have more and safer opportunities to invest in capital markets and increase their wealth. At the same time, businesses will have easier access to capital to innovate, grow, and create good jobs in Europe.”

According to the Competitiveness Compass, Europe’s capacity to address current challenges – such as climate change, rapid technological shifts, and new geopolitical dynamics – demands significant investments, which the Draghi report estimates at an additional €750-800B per year by 2030. This is further impacted by increased defence needs.

The need for Savings and Investments Union

Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and innovative companies require additional investment but cannot rely solely on bank financing.

By creating integrated capital markets along with an integrated banking system, the Sustainable Investment Union (SIU) can help connect savings with investment needs.

Delivering the SIU involves collaboration among EU institutions, Member States, and key stakeholders across four key areas:

• Citizens and Savings: Retail savers should have the option to invest in higher-yielding capital-market instruments for better returns, especially for retirement.
• Investment and Financing: The Commission will create initiatives to improve access to capital for all businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• Integration and Scale: Efforts will focus on removing barriers to cross-border operations in market infrastructures and fund management to help businesses grow more efficiently.
• Efficient Supervision: The Commission aims to ensure equal treatment for all financial market participants across the EU by improving supervisory coordination and tools.

The actions proposed in this strategy will be further developed in the period ahead, in continued dialogue with stakeholders.

The implementation of the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) will involve both legislative and non-legislative measures, requiring collaboration from Member States, the European Parliament, the private sector, and civil society.

In Q2 2027, the Commission will publish a mid-term review of the overall progress in achieving the Savings and Investments Union.