The European Commission is set to unveil a comprehensive plan in March aimed at strengthening the European Union’s single market, which serves 450 million consumers. Commission head Ursula von der Leyen announced the initiative, highlighting its objective to simplify operations for companies throughout the EU. This announcement followed discussions with EU leaders focused on enhancing the competitiveness of the EU economy.
Von der Leyen also stated that the EU executive body would continue to pursue the long-awaited capital markets union. The goal of this union is to facilitate more productive investment of approximately 10 trillion euros currently held in bank accounts. “We agreed that we want to be done with phase one of the Savings and Investment Union, that includes market integration, supervision and securitization by June,” von der Leyen said.
Recognising potential challenges in achieving unanimous progress among all 27 EU member states, the Commission is prepared to proceed with a subset of nations. Von der Leyen indicated a willingness to advance the project through enhanced cooperation, stating, “If there is not sufficient progress by then, we will consider enhanced cooperation, that is that at least 9 Member States if they want to move forward faster.”
The measures are designed to improve efficiency and reduce barriers to business within the European Union, promoting economic growth and stability across the region. The EU hopes this will create a more streamlined and competitive economic environment for companies operating within the bloc.
