Minister Heinen urges integration of European capital markets

Outgoing Minister of Finance Eelco Heinen is pushing for a European capital markets union. On Monday, six finance ministers from the largest EU countries met again to discuss this plan.

The capital markets union is an initiative of the European Union that aims to better align national financial markets. Bringing them together in a single integrated European market should make cross-border investment easier. This would promote economic growth and make the financial system less vulnerable.

Own rules

At present, each member state still has its own rules and supervision for investing. This fragmentation hinders capital flows between countries and creates additional costs, complexity, and administrative burdens for both businesses and individuals.

Ursula von der Leyen: pressure on the process

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put pressure on the process during an informal EU meeting in Alden Biesen. If insufficient progress has been made by June, she believes that a smaller group of countries should take the lead themselves. The European Treaty offers this possibility, provided that at least nine member states participate.

Heinen emphatically supports the plan, although he would prefer all 27 EU countries to participate. According to him, the Netherlands is not opposed to a leading group if necessary.

Helping startups and scaleups in particular

An important argument in favor of the capital markets union is that companies should have easier access to financing. Startups and scaleups in particular are currently facing limitations in attracting growth capital.