EU savings and investments union can be ready this year – Simon Harris

Tánaiste says Ireland will use its EU presidency later this year to 'get the result over the line'

Tánaiste and finance minister Simon Harris said EU states can get beyond divergence on handing powers to ESMA 'if everybody approaches the conversation with a degree of pragmatism'.

Finance minister Simon Harris said he is confident a long-awaited multi-trillion-euro European savings and investments union is close to getting over the line after years of sparring between member states over how it would work.

“I genuinely believe we can get it done in 2026,” the Tánaiste said at a Bloomberg event in London. 

Ireland will use its rotating EU presidency later this year to “get the result over the line,” he said: 

“This is one of those big transformation moments that we have to try and grasp.”

The aim of the union is to bolster European capital markets to finance future needs in areas including defence and pensions, but EU members have so far failed to agree on how, due to national interests, delaying its deployment.

“In the past, everyone approached this with the nationalist jersey on,” he said, adding that it’s time to get past that mindset.

“This is about making sure Europe wins and we don’t continue to see a significant outflow of investment.”

ESMA oversight 

A key plan of the savings and investment union plan is a markets integration and supervision package which includes a controversial proposal to transfer supervisory and enforcement powers to an EU markets regulator, the Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). 

There has been divergence on this among a number of EU members.

“There is a landing zone if everybody approaches the conversation with a degree of pragmatism,” Mr Harris said. 

“I detect that is there now.” However, he said Ireland is against the proposed transfer of powers to the regulator. 

Supervisory convergence

“ESMA needs a greater role, we need supervisory convergence and we’re not in Ireland supportive of the concept of centralised supervision, certainly not for the sake of it.”

Late last year, the EU’s executive arm announced recommendations for a savings & investment account that would incentivise households to put some of their €10tn in savings into other types of investments.

The EU financial services commissioner said the announcement was a key landmark in the plan.

• Bloomberg