Brussels takes aim at those cashing in on broken European markets

Brussels takes aim at those cashing in on broken European markets

Former investment banker turned Financial Services Commissioner, Maria Luis Albuquerque, is shining a light on the forces sabotaging greater integration.

Single market is not single, and its’s costing us all

Reading Time: 5 minutes The EU’s internal market is still falling short of its founding promise. Despite decades of integration, consumers across member states face uneven product quality and varied prices. This is due to regulatory fragmentation in two main forms: Territorial Supply Constraints (TSCs) and gold-plating. TSCs occur when suppliers block cross-border sourcing to preserve price differences. Gold-plating happens when national governm…

Commission consults on the integration of EU capital markets

On 15 April 2025, the European Commission (Commission) launched a targeted consultation on the integration of European Union (EU) capital markets. The aim of the consultation is to collect feedback on obstacles to financial market integration across the EU and it is part of the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) strategy. The Commission is looking for feedback from a wide range of stakeholders. The Commission consultation covers a broad range o…

The European Commission's new proposal, led by Ursula von der Leyen, with the significant name of the EU Savings and Investments Union, seeks to mobilize around 10 billion euros in private savings for sectors such as Defense, the green transition and technology. The European Commission argues that this financial integration is essential for competitiveness vis-à-vis the USA and China, estimating that the EU loses 470 billion euros a year due to …