28 February 2017

Commission report: Accelerating the capital markets union - Addressing national barriers to capital flows

Building integrated financial markets as part of the CMU requires important decisions at EU level, but also decisive commitments by each Member State to tackle national barriers. Action at national level is needed to set up the clear, predictable and stable environment that will allow for more investment and a more efficient allocation of capital, and ultimately boost financing of business and infrastructure.

The collaborative process with the Member States has focused on barriers that are in areas of national competence, which can be addressed by voluntary action and on which Member States are willing to work together. The barriers assessed were decided on the basis of their nature with a view to ensuring that cumulative actions at national level can trigger positive effects on cross-border investment.

While these barriers individually impact cross-border investment to a lesser or greater extent the assessment carried out so far was not underpinned by an economic assessment of the impact of each the barriers identified at EU or national level.

In the context of the CMU, the Commission intends to continue consulting all categories of interested parties, including industry and institutional stakeholders (such as the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund) to gather as many informed views as possible on the existing barriers and possible solutions. The CMU mid-term review will also provide input in this regard.

The Commission, in cooperation with Member States, shall assess the impact of the actions agreed in the Roadmap on cross-border investment, in the context of the progress towards the accomplishment of the CMU. The outcome of this assessment shall be taken into account when evaluating the need for further action. The Commission does not see the list of actions proposed below as exhaustive, and invites Member States in the expert group to identify other barriers in CMU-relevant areas. Possible topics include national reporting requirements imposed on top of existing EU legislation; barriers to the online distribution of investment funds; barriers faced by smaller institutional investors which are not eligible for a MiFID passport; or barriers related to the distribution of retail financial products.

Full report

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