European Commission Starts Consultations on Capital Markets Union

European Commissioner in charge of jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness Jyrki Katainen gives a press conference at the Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 28 January 2015. Photo EPA/BGNES

The European Commission has launched a project to unlock funding for Europe’s businesses and to boost growth in the EU with the creation of a true single market for capital.

The Capital Markets Union (CMU) aims to break down the barriers that are blocking cross-border investments in the EU and preventing businesses from getting access to finance, the EU executive said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Commission noted that Europe’s “current environment is tough for businesses that remain heavily reliant on banks and relatively less on capital markets ” while the opposite is true in other parts of the world.

“… if EU venture capital markets were as deep as the US, as much as EUR 90 B more in funds would have been available to companies between 2008 and 2013.”

With Wednesday’s launch of a three-month consultation round, known as a Green Paper, the Commission has started preparations for drafting an Action Plan to help unlock non-bank funding so that start-ups can thrive and larger companies can expand further.

Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness explained: "Capital Markets Union is the first structural initiative that the Commission puts forward under the investment plan. It will contribute to ensuring that the investment plan is more than a one-off push and has a durable positive impact on economic conditions in Europe."

 

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