Germany, France and the Netherlands are upping the pressure to create a single European Union market for capital as companies in Europe lack financing opportunities.
“Climate change and technological changes as well as Britain’s decision to leave the EU, further increased the need for such a Capital Markets Union,’’ German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and his French and Dutch counterparts Bruno Le Maire and Wopke Hoekstra wrote in a letter to Brussels.
“It is critical for the European Union to bolster its capacity to finance its growth and job creation as a necessary condition to ensure the resilience of its economy,’’ they said.
According to them, the aim is to reduce bureaucratic hurdles between individual EU states and thereby give companies more opportunities to raise money.
Report says this is particularly difficult for start-ups in Europe.
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They however said that consumers should also have more opportunities to invest money.
In Europe, loans and financing are mainly provided by banks.
When the economic outlook is bad, they tend to lend less, which can also cause problems in the real economy.
The EU has already adopted a number of measures in recent years, including greater support for green investment and the introduction of an EU-wide private pension scheme.
Germany, France and the Netherlands now propose setting up an independent, high-level working group to develop better solutions for a unified capital market, with a final report to be delivered no later than Sept. 30.
The results would then serve as a road map for the next European Commission.
The current commission’s term of office ends on October 31. (NAN)
