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White Paper on the Savings and Investments Union
Europe is sitting on a hidden treasure: €33 trillion in private savings. Yet, instead of fuelling innovation, sustainable growth, and strategic investments, a third of these funds—over €10 trillion—languish in low-yield bank accounts. Meanwhile, billions flow out of the EU, with European investors seeking better returns abroad. The European Union’s fragmented financial markets are stifling economic potential, leaving SMEs struggling for funding, and pushing Europe’s brightest innovators to seek capital elsewhere.
The new European Commission’s Savings and Investment Union (SIU) initiative must finally break the deadlock and turn Europe’s wealth into its engine for growth.
The SIU builds upon the Capital Markets Union (CMU) project, originally launched in 2014 under the Juncker Commission with the aim to channel private capital across borders, enhance economic stability and thereby drive economic growth. The vision was clear and simple but hugely ambitious and politically complex to execute: create a single market where financial securities are priced transparently, governed by the same rules, and supported by a consistent tax and insolvency framework. The goal was to mobilise abundant private capital and direct it to the most productive investments, reduce Europe’s reliance on bank loans, and strengthen economic resilience. Yet, a decade later, Europe’s capital markets remain fragmented, underdeveloped, and unable to compete globally. Progress has stalled.
Read Senior Adviser Atanas Pekanov's white paper here.