The EU’s "Savings and Investment Union" (SIU) is designed to establish an integrated European capital market that provides businesses at all growth stages with sufficient and affordable capital. The aim is to use private savings productively, efficiently distribute risks, reduce bureaucracy, and sustainably strengthen Europe’s international competitiveness.

The need for action is clear: EU capital markets are highly fragmented and nationally oriented. Compared to the USA, Europe lags behind in market capitalisation, the number and scale of initial public offerings (IPOs), and the intensity of venture capital (VC) usage. Consequently, many European startups and scale-ups turn to non-European VC to scale their business models rapidly.

Integrated capital markets promise many advantages

Businesses and regions in Germany and Europe would clearly benefit from the advantages of large, integrated capital markets: these enhance capital allocation—directing funds to their most effective use—they drive innovation, facilitate structural change, and increase productivity. Greater market liquidity reduces financing costs and improves businesses’ responsiveness.

Capital markets that share risks across borders could act as a stabilising anchor within the eurozone. Additionally, VC and growth financings need to be of sufficient volume to allow young, high-growth companies to scale rapidly, particularly in their later stages.

DIHK Recommendations

To maximise the impact of SIU, the DIHK suggests a pragmatic and balanced approach that respects the established strengths of national economic structures and involves minimal regulatory intervention. Key points include:

• Improving business attractiveness: The best financing conditions are ineffective if businesses can't operate and invest profitably. Therefore, proportional regulation, lower tax burdens, reduced energy costs, and faster access to skilled labour are necessary across all sectors.
• Diversifying financing instruments: Companies benefit when they can choose a mix of financing options: from credit financing to off-exchange/on-exchange equity and corporate bonds, tailored to their individual needs.
• Mobilising private savings: Financial literacy must improve. Particularly in terms of retirement planning, governments can better support the use of straightforward products (like ETF savings plans, funds).
• Promoting the securitisation market: Securitisations link capital markets with credit markets. They allow banks to exchange risks on their balance sheets for fresh capital for further credit. Realising the securitisation market’s full potential requires a streamlined EU Securitisation Regulation.
• Reducing capital market access costs: Proportional regulation for small and medium-sized enterprises, simpler prospectuses, digital processes, harmonised reporting, and more market-making by financial intermediaries providing liquidity are essential.
• Creating tax incentives for equity: The fiscal disadvantages of equity financing should be eliminated.
• Strengthening private equity: Greater openness of the VC market to institutional investors and better exit markets—especially through European IPOs—that allow investors to sell company shares, can significantly increase the VC market volume. Attractive employee participation schemes are particularly important in startups.

Download

The full DIHK paper with details is available here for download (only available in German):

DIHK Position 2026 "Towards the Savings and Investment Union"  (PDF, 457 KB)