What the EU is doing and why
The savings and investments union (SIU) is built on a simple idea: giving EU citizens more choice and opportunities to make the most of their savings while making it easier for European businesses to access the funding they need to grow, innovate and create jobs.
To achieve this, the SIU seeks to make sure that our financial system works as effectively as possible. Better integration of our financial markets should make access to capital simpler and more efficient, both for investors and for businesses. This helps build a more secure future for citizens while strengthening Europe’s competitiveness.
Europe faces significant investment needs to maintain its competitiveness, advance the twin transitions, strengthen security and resilience, and preserve technological sovereignty. The Draghi report estimates these additional needs at around 1.2 trillion EUR annually, with particularly strong demand for investment in areas such as deep tech, clean‑tech, defence, artificial intelligence, and biotech.
A significant share of these additional investment needs relates to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and innovative companies, which cannot rely solely on bank financing. By developing more integrated capital markets – alongside an integrated banking system – the SIU can effectively connect savings with investment needs.
The SIU draws on progress already made under the capital markets union (CMU) and the parallel efforts to develop the banking union.
Policy making timeline
- 23 July 2026Calls for interest - Financial literacy
- 17 July 2026Communication - Competitiveness of the banking sector
- 2 March 2026Targeted consultation - Private equity exits
Targeted consultation on private equity exits.
End date: 11 May 2026
- 4 December 2025Legislative proposal - Market integration and supervision
- 20 November 2025Legislative proposal - Supplementary pensions
- 29 October 2025Communication - Legislative programmes
- 30 September 2025Strategy - Savings and investment account
- 17 June 2025Legislative proposal - Securitisation package
- 8 May 2025Call for evidence - Market integration and supervision
Call for evidence on EU rules to foster market integration and efficient supervision.
End date: 5 June 2025.
- 24 April 2025Feedback channel - Market integration and supervision
Launch of a dedicated channel to report barriers to financial market integration and supervision within the EU single market.
- 15 April 2025Consultation - Market integration and supervision
Targeted consultation on integration of EU capital markets.
End date: 10 June 2025.
- 19 March 2025Strategy
Savings and investments union strategy: Fostering citizens' wealth and economic competetiveness in the EU.
- 3 February 2025Call for evidence
- 1 February 2024Political agreement - Capital markets union
- 7 December 2022Legislative proposals - Capital markets union
The Commission adopted a CMU package of three legislative proposals delivering on key commitments from the 2020 CMU action plan.
- 25 November 2021Legislative proposals - Capital markets union
The Commission adopted a CMU package of four legislative proposals delivering on some key commitments and a Communication.
- 24 September 2020Action plan - Capital markets union
The Commission adopted its new action plan on the CMU.
- June 2017Action plan review - Capital markets union
The Commission mid-term review updated and complemented the CMU action plan by strengthening existing actions and introducing new measures in response to evolving priorities and challenges.
- September 2016Communication - Capital markets union
The European Commission adopted a communication setting out the next steps to accelerate the completion of the CMU.
- September 2015First action plan - Capital markets union
The Commission adopted the first CMU action plan.
This page was last updated on 6 October 2026