Remarks by Commissioner Albuquerque on the Savings and Investments Union Communication

Good morning and thank you all for being here.

Today, we are launching the Savings and Investments Union.

This represents an opportunity to step forward for Europe's financial and economic future. This is a defining moment for the EU.

One that can make our economy stronger, more competitive, and better prepared for the challenges ahead.

The reality is clear: despite EU's enormous resources and achievements Europe's economy is underperforming.

This is not new and the global landscape is shifting faster than ever.

We are facing both a challenge and an opportunity for EU's huge potential.

If we fail to act - if we do not respond with urgency and collective ambition - we risk losing out on our citizens and businesses expectations and our place as a leading global voice.

And this is not an option.

The strategy for the Savings and Investments Union provides a path forward to drive economic growth and prosperity in Europe with the development of the single market on finance.  

My vision for a successful European Savings and Investments Union is:

An EU where households have more opportunities to build wealth and save for the big events in life;

An EU that has a faster growing economy with more and better jobs, where companies strive and innovate;

And an EU with enough investment flows to meet the needs of European companies, including those which are critical for our strategic priorities, considering the digital, climate and social transitions, and security and defence.  

Our goal must be to make investing in Europe the obvious choice, by creating the conditions that will allow offering attractive opportunities, competitive returns and low barriers.

 

To ensure we get there:

We must act swiftly and decisively to deal with current inefficiencies. This will require dealing with topics that have been put aside for too long and will tackle vested interests and barriers.

We must see real change in the functioning of our single market for financial services and its ability to finance projects throughout the EU, from the local companies to pan-European corporates.

The SIU will not be built from Brussels alone. It will require joint efforts from EU institutions, Member States, as well as the private sector. It is a shared responsibility.

And most importantly, we must put our citizens first. By prioritising household wealth creation, we can give them more opportunities and spark a new wave of capital throughout Europe.

 

Growth isn't just a by-product of the Savings and Investment Union; it's a central objective, because maintaining Europe's economic power is also a matter of our collective security.

The Savings and Investments Union is a “sector agnostic enabler” for the financing of all the priorities listed in the Competitiveness Compass and ReArm Europe. Its aim is to make the EU's financial market deeper and more liquid and thereby more efficient in channelling financial resources to productive investments.

It's about strengthening Europe for the challenges of the present and the future. It's part of our Readiness 2030 strategy.

 

There is strong political ambition for more public investment in Europe's strategic priorities, yet public funding alone won't be enough. Recent communications from the Commission set a clear business case for our industries and our economy to strive. These form the basis of our political commitment. These set clearly our priorities and our direction of travel.

Creating the right financing ecosystem in Europe, will facilitate connecting those priorities with citizens and businesses. We must ensure that companies have the best possible path to bring solutions– from research and development right through to delivery.

We need to improve how we mobilise capital in Europe. 

The Savings and Investments Union has been designed to allow this financing ecosystem to emerge.

Our strategy is based on four pillars: 1) Citizens and Savings; 2) Investment and Financing; 3) Integration and Scale and 4) Efficient Supervision in the Single Market.

Its implementation will be guided by the imperatives of simplification, burden reduction and digitalisation.

And it will also rely heavily on implementation and enforcement.

 

[SIU Overview]

First, citizens and savings. 

Currently, too few European citizens make a decent return on their hard-earned savings.

At least not in a simple and cost-efficient way.

In Europe, we have over 10 trillion euro sitting in low yield deposit accounts. There are good reasons for keeping money in safe bank accounts, but there are also missed opportunities.  

Lacking efficient capital markets in Europe, those who are motivated enough to find a way to invest their money, often turn to foreign markets. And too often it is easier to do that than to invest it in our single market.

This is regrettable and represents a loss to us all. It also means that businesses in Europe have less European financing options.

On the other hand, much of the returns made in Europe's stock markets often benefit pension funds from third countries, and only marginally local pension funds or retail investors. This is a missed opportunity.

We will take action to make investing in the EU easier and more beneficial for our citizens.  

To achieve this, we will put forward a European blueprint for savings and investments accounts for retail investors, based on existing national best practices, accompanied by recommendations on the tax treatment for such accounts.

We will also present a financial literacy strategy to empower citizens, raise awareness and increase their participation in capital markets.

We will also work in the area of supplementary pensions, whilst fully respecting Member States competence to devise muti-pillar pension systems and the social dialogues.

We will put forward recommendations to promote auto-enrolment in occupational pension schemes, pension tracking systems and dashboards which have proven to be effective in raising awareness and attracting more people into supplementary pension funds and other retirement products. We will also review the current EU supplementary pension framework, namely the regulation on the Pan-European personal pension product and the IORP Directive, to increase its effectiveness and attractiveness.  

Second, investment and financing.

Too often European companies, in particular young innovative ones, have to look elsewhere for funding and, indeed, many of them choose to take their business outside Europe.

One of the key objectives of the Savings and Investments Union is to increase and facilitate access to finance for EU companies - wherever they're located in the Single Market.

By making it easier for companies to access diversified sources of finance, including cross–border in the EU, they can raise the funds they need to grow and create jobs here in Europe.

For this, we will look at multiple ways of improving the availability of capital, in particular through institutional investors. We will address barriers for insurers, banks and pension funds to invest in equity, including in venture capital.

We will review the EU rules on securitisation, focusing on due diligence, transparency and prudential requirements for banks and insurers, as this will free up resources from banks and allow to better support companies.

We will leverage on public funding through the EIB Group and national promotional banks, to attract private investors into co-financing projects that support our economy and implement our political priorities.

We will also revise the legislation on European venture Capital Funds. This will help to better facilitate equity financing for our high tech and innovative companies.

Third, integration and scale.

We have to promote operational efficiency in our markets.

European firms are unable to enjoy the scale and synergies of the Single Market.

This is costly and represents a competitive disadvantage for the EU.

Fragmentation persists despite the existence of passports and advanced harmonisation of the regulatory framework. This situation benefits certain actors, and we can't stand for this.

I intend to be vocal in calling out those who stall our joint progress and hold back European capital market integration.

Furthermore, we will present ambitious legislative proposals to remove regulatory and supervisory barriers to cross-border operations of market infrastructures, asset management and distribution of funds.

This will enable financial market participants to grow efficiently across the EU and to lower costs of financial services for businesses and citizens.

Finally, efficient supervision in a Single Market.

We need strong and harmonised supervision to ensure the strength, stability and integrity of EU capital markets.

It's crucial to ensure all financial market participants can count on equal treatment and broadly similar decisions when approaching supervisors, irrespective of where they are located in the EU.

Convergence is a tool that has shown its merits, but also its limits. Tolerating duplications, divergences or supervisory inefficiencies adds even more to the costs of investing in the EU and erodes stakeholders' trust.

It is our responsibility to act.

The Commission will present a legislative proposal to achieve a more unified supervision of EU capital markets. This will include measures to strengthen convergence tools but also will envisage transferring certain supervisory tasks from national to EU supervisors. 

The Savings and Investments Union takes a holistic approach, encompassing the entire EU financial system.

Europe's capital and banking markets are deeply connected. Strong capital markets need a strong banking sector.

Banks are not just intermediaries - they are crucial players in the Savings and Investment Union.

They provide financing, manage risk, and support European businesses.

Yet, Europe's banking framework remains incomplete and our banking market fragmented

And that's a problem we must address.

The Banking Union contributes not only to financial stability but also to better integration of the banking sector.

We need large and diversified banks – at the scale of the EU economy, not just at the national scale. We need them to compete at global level.

The development of the Capital Markets Union must be supported by a competitive banking sector, with pan-European actors.

That's why it's paramount to continue working on the reform of the bank Crisis Management and Deposit Insurance framework, as well as on the development of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme.

The Commission will also deliver a report on the state of the banking sector, including its competitiveness in the course of 2026, whilst closely monitoring developments in the global market. We will continue to work to preserve a level playing field, while preserving financial stability.

 

Following extensive consultations throughout Europe, my services have brought the views of 27 Member States into the Savings and Investments Union.

An effective single market for capital depends on thriving local markets – both need to develop in tandem.

Member States have confirmed that they share the objectives of the Savings and Investments Union.

And we will need their commitment to act, especially in areas where the EU has limited competences Delivering is a shared responsibility.

The Commission has put the strategy forward, we will now deliver and engage with co-legislators to translate it into action.