What the EU does
Finance is essential for our economy and for the wellbeing of European citizens. Whether you are paying in a shop, saving for the future, investing in sustainable projects, or running a business, you need a financial system that works and that you can trust.
The EU is working to build a stable financial system and to ensure that people have trust in the financial sector. To this end, we are fighting market misconduct and financial crime. We also impose sanctions when needed to prevent conflicts or respond to crises outside the EU.
Together with Member States and the European Parliament, we shape the rules for financial services in the EU, so that markets work well, and you can pay, save, invest or get insured with confidence. Once the rules are agreed on, we make sure that they work in practice and are implemented properly.
We are implementing measures to develop a savings and investments union, a vital project for the EU’s competitiveness and growth. It aims to foster a more integrated and dynamic capital market and to mobilise private capital into productive investments for the benefits of citizens and businesses.
We constantly monitor new risks to financial stability, consumer protection or market integrity, so we can react quickly when needed. We also support the digital transformation of financial services, while mitigating potential risks. We collaborate closely with other EU supervisory authorities and international bodies, because the EU is connected to the global financial system.
Our key objectives are to:
- advance the savings and investments union to better connect savings and productive businesses
- empower Europeans to take well‑informed financial decisions
- build an EU single market for capital with appropriate regulation and high‑quality financial reporting, while minimising the administrative burden on companies
- create a robust regulatory and supervisory framework for banks, insurers and pension funds
- create tools and policies for the financial sector that help the EU reach its climate and environmental goals
- enable the financial sector to reap the benefits of digitalisation while managing its risks
- fight money laundering and terrorist financing, and impose sanctions when needed
- advance international regulatory cooperation on all financial matters
Areas of action
The EU has introduced a specific regulatory process for financial services. Learn more about it.
The Savings and Investments Union is the EU’s plan to unlock funding for Europe’s growth. Find out what the EU is doing.
Explore how the banking union ensures that EU banks are stronger and better supervised.
Find out more about EU action on insurance and pension funds.
Read more on how the EU integrates sustainability into its financial policy.
Learn how the EU enables the financial sector to benefit from new technologies.
Find out how the EU empowers consumers to make informed financial decisions.
Explore the EU’s sanctions policy and efforts to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.
Discover how the EU works with its international partners on financial regulation and capital movement.
Key achievements
- Following the financial crisis, the EU improved its financial supervision system to make the regulatory process in financial services quicker and more effective.
- The Listing Act will make EU public capital markets more attractive and make it easier for companies of all sizes, including SMEs, to list on European stock exchanges.
- New prudential rules as part of the banking package are helping banks stay resilient during economic uncertainty, in line with international standards.
- The EU has updated rules to strengthen the insurance regulatory framework, while allowing insurers to invest more in the real economy.
- The EU has become a global leader in digital finance with the Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation, the first comprehensive set of rules for cryptocurrencies.
- The anti-money laundering package established a single set of rules and a new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority, to strengthen market integrity and prevent and detect financial crime more effectively.
- In response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the EU has adopted sanctions to weaken Russia's economic base, limiting its access to critical technologies and markets, and significantly reducing its ability to wage war.
In focus
The savings and investments union aims to create better financial opportunities for EU citizens, while enhancing our financial system’s capability to connect savings with productive investments.
This will lead to more choices for savers who wish to grow their household wealth and allow businesses across Europe to grow. It covers four strands of work:
- citizens and savings
- investment and financing
- integration and scale
- efficient supervision in the Single Market.