Savings And Investments Union: What Does It Mean For The EU?

In 2025, the European Commission broadened the goals that had been established for the Capital Markets Union (CMU), targeting the whole financial system, as opposed to the original aim of creating a single EU capital market.

This represented an evolution of the CMU, a project launched in 2015, and the European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, Maria Luís Albuquerque, stressed to FinanceMalta that the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) was much more than a “mere rebranding”.

1. What is the difference between the SIU and the CMU?

There are three main differences. Whereas the CMU was designed to create a single market for capital, so that savings and investment could flow more easily across borders and European companies could access a wider range of financing, the SIU is a more holistic approach. It brings together capital markets and banking, while providing better investment opportunities for citizens and more financing for European businesses.

Europe faces a mismatch between abundant savings and insufficient productive investment. Too many savers receive low returns, while many companies struggle to find the financing they need to grow and scale up. The SIU therefore aims at placing citizens’ wealth and financial security as a core objective alongside competitiveness.

Finally, the SIU will not be built from Brussels alone. It will be a joint effort between the EU and Member States – which should also take responsibility to build their own capital and banking markets.

2. Has the move to the SIU meant there is a greater chance this will succeed?

There is clear political momentum behind the SIU at the highest EU level. European leaders increasingly recognise that the real competition is no longer within the Union, between Member States, but beyond it – with global powers such as the United States and China.

The EU has every reason to be confident about its economic future. We have the skills, the innovation, the industrial and technological capabilities – and Europeans are also among the world’s biggest savers, with around €11 trillion currently held in low-yield bank deposits.

Yet one of our central weaknesses is that Europe’s capital and banking markets remain too fragmented. This limits the ability of financial market participants to scale up across the Single Market and reduces their capacity to offer better, cheaper and more innovative services to citizens and businesses.

3. What impact did the Draghi report have on the EU’s strategic objectives?

The Draghi report sharpened the EU’s focus on competitiveness and made the scale and urgency of Europe’s investment needs much clearer. It estimated that an additional €850 billion would be needed each year to achieve objectives such as innovation, digitalisation, decarbonisation and greater security and resilience. Annual investment needs are now estimated at around €1.2 trillion.

This diagnosis is reflected in the Competitiveness Compass and in the SIU, which is a horizontal enabler of the EU’s strategic objectives. The SIU can help by improving access to equity and risk capital for start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs and other innovative companies that cannot rely exclusively on bank lending.

4. How does the shift in priorities towards households reflect what is happening within EU member states?

The household focus responds to the way savings are currently held across Europe. Europeans save a great deal, but many keep most of their financial wealth in low-return deposits, while participation in more profitable investments such as shares, funds and supplementary pensions varies considerably between Member States.

Several Member States have already developed measures such as savings and investment accounts and supplementary pension arrangements. Building on these national experiences, the Commission has recommended that all Member States introduce or improve simple, accessible savings and investment accounts with simple tax procedures and incentives.

5. Malta has one of the top three savings rates for households – will the SIU help?

Maltese households combine a strong capacity to save with rather conservative asset allocation. Their saving rate stood at 18.8% in 2024, the third highest in the EU. Compared with the EU average, Maltese households hold a significantly larger share of their assets in currency and deposits (40% of GDP vs 26.9% in the EU) and in bonds (8.9% vs 2.4%).

For businesses, another area where the SIU could make a real difference is the venture capital and private equity ecosystem, which remains underdeveloped in Malta. Between 2022 and 2024, venture capital investment in Malta averaged just 0.005% of GDP – more than 12 times below the EU average.

The Commission will also present a reform of the rules governing venture and growth capital funds in 2027.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.