Commissioner Albuquerque crucial for the Savings and Investment Union – Von der Leyen

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, considered on Wednesday that the Portuguese European Commissioner, Maria Luís Albuquerque, will be “the main player” in the creation of the Savings and Investment Union, to increase European competitiveness.
“Portuguese Commissioner Albuquerque will be the main player […] in the creation of a Savings and Investment Union and, of course, also to develop a deeper and more integrated capital market. With her experience, she is the right person for this,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
The leader of the European executive was responding, in Brussels, to a question from Lusa at the press conference for the presentation of the “Compass for Competitiveness”, a strategy presented on Wednesday which focuses on innovation, decarbonisation and security, priorities that will guide the five years of the second mandate of the leader of the European executive, Ursula von der Leyen, at the head of the institution.
In a context of geopolitical tensions and the American political transition, Von der Leyen wants to bet on community economic competitiveness, which is why she has already called this an Investment Commission and entrusted the Portuguese European Commissioner for Financial Services and Savings and Investment Union, Maria Luís Albuquerque, with raising a substantial amount of capital in the European Union (EU), namely private capital.
This is expressed in the communication presented today, indicating that the European Commission will present, in the first quarter of this year, “a strategy for a Savings and Investment Union, followed by a set of specific proposals, to enable the creation of wealth for EU citizens and mobilize capital for projects carried out in Europe”.
“The EU must integrate and have deeper and more liquid capital markets, as a necessary measure to mobilize private sector resources and direct them towards future-oriented growth sectors,” it is argued in the communication about this “Compass for competitiveness.”
Furthermore, according to Brussels, “it is also necessary to stimulate a greater appetite for risk-taking by private investors, using public funds as an anchor.”
The President of the European Commission proposed today, in the strategy for her mandate, administrative simplification, the elimination of market access barriers and providing financing for the EU to ‘outcompete’ the United States and China.
The idea is to combat the lack of investment and innovation in the EU, diversify energy supply to obtain lower prices, and strengthen economic resilience and security.
It is estimated that the EU needs to invest 800 billion euros per year, equivalent to 4% of GDP, to bridge investment gaps and delays in industrial, technological, and defense terms compared to the United States and China.