BRUSSELS, Feb 11 - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told lawmakers that the European Union needs to streamline the regulatory environment for businesses operating in the bloc to sharpen its competitive edge against rivals such as the United States and China.
Speaking in the European Parliament, von der Leyen contrasted the U.S. model with Europe's current structure. "Let me take the U.S. example again. One financial system, one financial capital, and a handful of other financial centres. Here in Europe, we do not only have 27 different financial systems, each with its own supervisor," she said.
She went on to underline the extent of market fragmentation in the EU, pointing to the large number of trading platforms across member states. "But also, more than 300 trading venues across our Union. That is fragmentation on steroids. We need one large, deep and liquid capital market. And this is the goal of our Savings and Investment Union," von der Leyen added.
To translate that objective into policy, von der Leyen said she would ask EU leaders at the March EU summit to back a joint single market roadmap extending to 2028. The proposed roadmap would include a clear timetable for when reforms to deepen the single market should be implemented, she said.
The speech framed regulatory simplification as a strategic step to create broader, deeper capital markets within the EU and to reduce the operational complexity companies face when doing business across member states. Von der Leyen’s remarks emphasized both the number of distinct supervisory regimes and the proliferation of trading venues as central contributors to what she described as excessive fragmentation.
The proposed endorsement at the March summit would be a political step toward coordinating action across member states and setting a schedule for measures aimed at integrating markets through to 2028. The president presented the Savings and Investment Union as the specific policy framework intended to help achieve a single, more liquid capital market that could better support investment and corporate activity across the bloc.
Length of article: This article preserves the key statements delivered by the European Commission President and the specific policy timeline she outlined.