Commission unveils Savings and Investments Union strategy to enhance financial opportunities for EU citizens and businesses

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The European Commission has adopted its strategy for the Savings and Investments Union (SIU), a key initiative to improve the way the EU financial system channels savings to productive investments. It seeks to offer EU citizens broader access to capital markets and better financing options for companies. This can foster citizens’ wealth, while boosting EU economic growth and competitiveness.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “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.”

The SIU is a horizontal enabler that will create a financing ecosystem to benefit investments in the EU’s strategic objectives. As highlighted in 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 €750-800 billion per year by 2030, and which is further impacted by increased defence needs. Much of these additional investment needs relate to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and innovative companies, which cannot rely solely on bank financing. By developing integrated capital markets – alongside an integrated banking system – the SIU can effectively connect savings and investment needs.

The EU is equipped with a talented workforce, innovative companies and a large pool of household savings of around €10 trillion in bank deposits. Bank deposits are safe and easy to access, but they usually earn less money than investments in capital markets. The SIU can support the well-being of our citizens,by offering them the choice and opportunities to pursue better returns by putting their savings to work in capital markets.

At the same time, more investments in capital markets support the real economy by enabling companies across Europe to grow and thrive. This cancreate better jobs with more competitive salaries for European workers, and drive investment and growth across all economic sectors – especially in areas that the EU has identified as strategically important, such as technological innovation, decarbonisation and security.

Delivering the SIU is a shared responsibility of EU institutions, Member States and all key stakeholders, requiring concerted efforts and close collaboration across four strands of work:

1. Citizens and Savings: Retail savers already play a central role in financing the EU economy via bank deposits, but they should have the opportunity, if they wish, to hold more of their savings in higher-yielding capital-market instruments including in view of retirement.
2. Investment and Financing: To stimulate investments, and in particular those in critical sectors, the Commission will introduce initiatives aimed at improving capital availability and access for all businesses, including small and medium enterprises.
3. Integration and Scale: Reducing inefficiencies stemming from fragmentation will entail important efforts to remove any regulatory or supervisory barriers to cross-border operations of market infrastructures, asset management and distribution of funds. This will enable businesses to scale efficiently across the EU.
4. Efficient Supervision in the Single Market: The Commission will propose measures to ensure all financial market participants receive similar treatment, irrespective of their location in the EU. This will entail reinforcing the use of convergence tools as well as a reallocation of supervisory competences between national and EU levels.

Finally, the SIU also aims at enhancing the integration and competitiveness of the EU banking sector, including through the deepening of the Banking Union. The Commission will also assess the overall situation of the banking system in the Single Market, including its competitiveness.

Next steps

The actions proposed in this strategy will be further developed in the period ahead, in continued dialogue with stakeholders. Packages of measures will be taken in a limited range of areas, with a clear link to boosting competitiveness in the EU economy, with the most impactful actions being given priority in 2025.

Implementing the SIU will rest on both legislative and non-legislative measures, and on measures to be developed by the Member States themselves. Future success will require collaborative efforts from all stakeholders, including the Member States, European Parliament, 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.