MEPs discuss competitiveness and savings and investments union with Commissioners

On Wednesday MEPs met Commissioners Séjourné and Albuquerque to discuss the Competitiveness Compass and the Savings and Investments Union.

The discussion comes in the wake of the roadmap for regaining competitiveness published by the Commission at the end of January, and the plans for a Savings and Investments Union which the Commission unveiled today.

The competitiveness agenda

Vice President Séjourné explained how the Commission intended to go about creating a more competitive but also more decarbonised economy. He also detailed the ‘simplification shock’ that the Commission intends to undertake.

On competitiveness MEPs wanted to know more details how the Commission intended to bolster specific industries and develop markets. They also asked for more information on how the competitiveness fund would work. MEPs also pointed out the need to better address excessive regulation and others to better factor in the education and training dimensions into the Competitiveness compass. The steel sector was also an industry that was specifically discussed.

Mobilising investments and savings for Europe

A few hours after the Commission presentation of the strategy for the Savings and Investment Union (SIU), Commissioner Albuquerque outlined its key features to the ECON MEPs, such as tackling fragmentation the EU financial markets, harmonised supervision acres the EU and digitalisation. The strategy aims at creating more opportunities for the EU households to invest in the European companies that desperately need such investment.

MEPs asked about scaling up European companies, including banks with the help of cross border mergers in order to create deeper finical markets and attract investors to the EU. Others wanted to know whether the Commission is committed to ongoing negotiations on Retail Investment Strategy and some urged to replicate existing EU solutions such as European investment and savings account to create opportunities of higher returns for retail investors in the EU.