Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Commission proposed measures on Thursday aimed at making the bloc’s capital markets more competitive, primarily by facilitating cross-border operations and expanding oversight authority for the European Securities and Markets Authority.
The European Commission’s proposals, pending approval from EU governments and the European Parliament, aim to streamline cross-border operations within the EU by introducing enhanced passporting for regulated markets and central securities depositories.
Building a real single market for financial services.
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) December 4, 2025
We aim to integrate EU financial markets by removing barriers in trading, post-trading, and asset management.
Our proposal makes cross-border investing simpler, cheaper, and more beneficial for Europeans.
How will the EU’s plan boost cross-border market operations?
The package aims to remove obstacles to integration in trading, post-trading, and asset management. It intends to help market participants operate more smoothly across Member States, thereby lowering cost disparities between domestic and cross-border transactions.
They would enable pan-European trading venues to consolidate corporate structures and licences into one entity and ease restrictions on digital ledger technology, which usually refers to blockchain- the technology underpinning crypto assets.
Major infrastructure oversight, including trading venues, central counterparties, CSDs, and crypto-asset providers, would be handed over to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Additionally, ESMA would take on a more prominent coordinating role in asset management.
Why does Enrico Letta warn about EU savings flowing abroad?
Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who authored a report on enhancing the single market last year, stated that the most significant overall impact might be achieved by directing the 33 trillion euros ($38.53 trillion) of private savings into the real economy. Currently, approximately one-third of these savings are kept in current accounts.
Letta stated that the 300 billion euros of family savings moving abroad, mainly to the United States, exposed the weaknesses of the EU’s fragmented markets. This is reflected in the 2024 market capitalisation of stock exchanges: in the EU, it equals 73% of GDP, whereas in the U.S., it stands at 270% of GDP.
How does the 2026 European Semester aim to strengthen growth?
According to its 2026 European Semester autumn package, which was approved in November 2025, the European Commission seeks to strengthen the EU economy by increasing competitiveness, productivity, growth, economic security, and resilience while maintaining sound public finances.
Promote sustainable prosperity through the Single Market Strategy, Clean Industrial Deal for decarbonization, AI Continent Action Plan, and EU Quantum Strategy to address unfair competition, energy costs, and skills gaps. Increase productivity through structural reforms, investments in human capital, such as STEM education, and customised country recommendations.
