Savings and Investment Union (S.I.U.): mobilizing European savings for the real economy

In March 2025, the European Commission presented an ambitious strategy: the Savings and Investment Union (S.I.U.). This project aims to fundamentally transform Europe's financial landscape, mobilizing household savings to support business competitiveness and respond to major challenges, notably the energy and digital transitions.

The UEI is a continuation of the Capital Market Union, but with a renewed determination to build a financially sovereign Europe, capable of channelling its resources towards its own strategic needs.

Why a Savings and Investment Union (UEI)?

Europe has a high savings rate, but little of it is invested in the European real economy.

European households have a higher savings rate than their American counterparts (14% vs. 8%). However, a large proportion of these savings remain under-invested in Europe's real economy. Around 70% of household financial assets are held in bank deposits or low-yield investments. And only 17% are invested in financial instruments, compared with 43% in the US.

As a result, Europe is struggling to mobilize its resources for the direct financing of businesses, innovation, infrastructure and transitions, and is falling further behind in terms of growth.

Massive capital flight benefits the United States

According to Finance Europe, European household financial savings total around 35,000 billion euros. Between 20% and 30% of these savings finance the foreign economy, mainly the United States, with around 300 billion euros going overseas every year.

This situation can be explained by the attraction of the higher yields offered by certain American products, but also by the lack of sufficiently strong incentives to invest for the long term in Europe.

What are the UEI's objectives?

Faced with this situation, the UEI is pursuing several major objectives:

• Mobilize European savings to finance businesses and transition projects (ecological, digital).
• Strengthen the EU's strategic autonomy by reducing its dependence on external funding.
• Create a single financing market, facilitating access to capital markets for citizens and businesses.
• Stimulate growth, innovation and employment.

Project highlights

1. Encourage household investment

One of the pillars of the UEI is to encourage citizens to invest more in European companies, notably via long-term savings products, with :

• The launch of the "Finance Europe" label, guaranteeing that labeled investments invest at least 70% of their assets in the European Economic Area (EEA), with a minimum investment period of five years.
• Tax incentives to steer savings towards long-term products, particularly for retirement, but alsoemployee savings.
• A European strategy forfinancial education, to improve literacy, savers' confidence in investment products and employees' financial health.

2. Reducing regulatory barriers

To encourage cross-border savings, the Commission intends to :

• Remove structural barriers to the distribution of financial products throughout the EU.
• Simplify the regulatory framework, particularly for asset management and securitization.
• Review the rules governing Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision(IORPs) and the pan-European individual retirement savings product (PEPP).

3. Develop retirement savings

The UEI gives a central place toretirement savings, seen as an essential lever forlong-term investment. Measures include :

• The development of harmonized retirement savings products at European level, such as the PEPP, to facilitate citizens' mobility and the accumulation of a supplementary pension.
• Progressive alignment of national systems to offer greater portability and simplicity.
• Automatic enrolment in supplementary pension schemes.
• Security and transparency: the "Finance Europe" label will guarantee strict management and investment criteria, reinforcing investor confidence.

Key criteria for the Europe Label