European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Opening remarks by Commissioner Albuquerque at the Austrian Parliament Vienna, 3 March 2026 Good afternoon, Honourable Members. Let me begin by expressing my gratitude for the opportunity to speak to you today. Engagement between national parliaments and European institutions reinforces the work that we do for our citizens and businesses. Today's discussion comes ...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Opening remarks by Commissioner Albuquerque at the Austrian Parliament Vienna, 3 March 2026 Good afternoon, Honourable Members. Let me begin by expressing my gratitude for the opportunity to speak to you today. Engagement between national parliaments and European institutions reinforces the work that we do for our citizens and businesses. Today's discussion comes at a moment when Europe needs to make strategic choices about how we finance growth, innovation and security. Your perspectives as legislators are essential to getting those choices right. I am very much looking forward to hearing your views. But first, I would like to provide some context and explain how the work we are doing at the Commission is relevant to Europe's future, including the future of Austrian citizens and businesses that you represent. Ladies and gentlemen, the future of our Union depends on our ability to compete with the largest trading blocs in the world. And to do that, we must be able to secure our own independence, especially when it comes to financing our strategic priorities. This doesn't mean locking the world out – our recent major trade deals exemplify our global intentions – but it does mean we must stop ignoring our own structural vulnerabilities. Financing is a critical part of self-determination, and right now in Europe, financing is still limited. We have our national markets, yes, but they lack the scale to match our strategic ambitions. The hard truth is that no single Member State—no matter how large its national economy—is big enough to compete with the sheer investment firepower of the United States or China, public and private sector alike. We are all aware of Europe's strategic investment needs – we hear about them all the time – things like deep tech, defence, healthcare, or climate. To ensure that we are leading in these areas, we need to significantly increase the scale of our investment capabilities. But, Honourable Members, with our financial markets as they are now, this will just not happen . The fragmented state of our financial infrastructure is costing us too much. According to a recent study, average settlement costs are 30-300 percent higher and safekeeping costs 160-500 percent higher than in the U.S. These costs result in leakages from our EU market to other markets, i.e. the competition, which are relatively cheaper – we simply cannot accept this. When it comes to financing, we urgently need to adopt a “whole of Europe” approach. It is truly the first step, and it is one that we must take together. My task as Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union is to put the conditions in place to sharpen our competitive edge - all of my work begins and ends with this goal. We are seeing evidence of a resurgence in European markets today. As we begin 2026, the European IPO market is off to a record start – the fastest we have seen in decades. This is a vote of confidence in Europe from investors, and shows that even during turbulent times, investors recognise the lasting strength of our industry and the reliability of our institutional setting. Our task now is to ensure that this is not just a momentary revival but a long-term shift towards a deeper and more liquid capital market in the EU. Deeper capital markets are also about resilience, ensuring that our investment needs in innovation, infrastructure and defence capabilities can be financed. More developed capital markets also mean better opportunities for citizens to earn better returns on their savings. Through the Savings and Investments Union, we are creating the conditions for a virtuous cycle of growth in the European Union. This includes setting the right conditions in the legal framework that our market operates under - that means making it more effective, proportionate, and importantly, simpler - but much of my work also comes in the form of gathering momentum among stakeholders. Each and every Member State in the European Union stands to gain from a stronger and more liquid European market for capital. It would be a vital resource for growth and innovation in Europe, especially for SMEs. SMEs represent the vast majority of European businesses and count for around half of our economic output. But even more important is their stability. A large share of Europe's mid-sized firms are multi- generational businesses, deeply rooted in their regions and workforces. Without functioning capital markets, too many of these firms risk stagnation or closure, not because they lack products or customers, but because they lack appropriate funding options. These businesses have deep institutional and industrial memory, and they allow us, as a trading block, to compete with our largest geoeconomic peers. I believe we should do more for them. Traditionally, SMEs rely heavily on bank financing – and for many, that is perfectly adequate to continue to operate. However, for a family-owned manufacturing firm in Graz that wants to expand into new technologies and exercise in innovation, capital markets can mean access to the right partners for growth capital. This is where the Savings and Investments Union can play a crucial role. By providing the conditions for a stronger equity market, European businesses can benefit from ‘patient capital', and investors can share in the long-term success of the firm. Concretely, the SIU is about removing the barriers that still fragment Europe's capital markets. Among other things, we are making access to equity financing easier, and reducing obstacles to cross-border investment, we are strengthening Europe's venture capital and growth-equity ecosystem and promoting long-term investment by institutional investors that can provide patient capital, which is so important for innovation, infrastructure and industrial transformation. Together, these measures increase both the supply of capital and the number of companies able to access it, which is what ultimately creates deeper and more liquid markets. The proposals already adopted by the Commission under the SIU strategy address banks – securitisation; retail investors – SIAs and the European Financial Literacy Strategy; insurers - the Solvency II DA; future generations – pensions package; and the Capital Markets Union – the Market Integration and Supervision Package. We are currently working on a report on the competitiveness of the banking sector, to be followed by whatever changes may be needed to our regulatory framework. Honourable Members, I believe that we are at a turning point in our Union. The magnitude of the challenges we face, from infrastructure to innovation, from security and defence to preserving our welfare system, demand we work together, at an European scale, to build a financial system capable to match our ambition and to guarantee the same opportunities to every citizen and every business, anywhere in the 27 Member States. I believe that in time, we will look back at this moment in our collective history as one where the European Union acted together, acted decisively, and set a new course. But changing course requires courage to make bold decisions and cooperation between EU institutions and national legislators. Your engagement is essential to making the Savings and Investments Union a success. Thank you. I look forward to our discussion. SPEECH/26/520
Speech Brief