As financial experts and policy advisors urge Brussels to make structural changes in the investment industry, the European Commission has been presented with a “game-changing” plan to overcome the dual challenges of the corona pandemic and Brexit through the unification of the 27 national markets in the EU into a single capital markets union (CMU).
A report by the High-Level Forum (HFL) from the European Commission, puts forth recommendations and measures, in a set of 17 clusters, necessary for the EU to establish a single market that will reduce the reliance on bank borrowing, lower costs for investors and bring a larger scale to funds.
The report also highlights the importance of guaranteeing the sustainability of pensions at risk from an increase in debt and calls for stricter compliance with rules known as Priips.
Thomas Wieser, chair of the Forum, explains that “the report does not contain abstract ideas or high-level principles that should be achieved, rather, it has very precise and clear recommendations on what should be done in order to move Europe forward.”
Quoted by journals such as Financial Times, IPE and Yahoo, Guillaume Prache, managing director of consumer group BETTER FINANCE, mentioned that “It is too early to declare victory,” adding that “restoring (the) much-needed trust amongst individual investors will only be possible if policymakers take this report into account and seriously engage with its ‘game-changing’ proposals.”