Numerous conditions have come together in 2018 to make it the year for jumpstarting European construction. Key political players have high ambitions, as a buoyant economic environment allows them to look further ahead than usual. This article addresses a series of issues to make it easier to understand the debates and the upcoming decisions.
Capital Markets Union (CMU) aims to draw the best from the various financing channels, by expanding opportunities for saving and the availability of long-term financing, and to improve financial integration in the European Union. To this end, the European Commission has drawn up a lengthy but coherent list of actions, some of which have already been completed. Although the introduction of a more favourable legislative framework is essential, Capital Markets Union is a long-term process, whose success will depend above all on the behaviour of economic agents.
