European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Albuquerque (by video message) for the Malta's Financial Wellbeing Conference 2026: From Access to Trust Online, 15 October 2026 Good morning to everyone gathered in Malta today. Although other commitments mean that I am joining you from Brussels, I was determined to contribute to this important discussion. Let me begin by thanking the organ...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Albuquerque (by video message) for the Malta's Financial Wellbeing Conference 2026: From Access to Trust Online, 15 October 2026 Good morning to everyone gathered in Malta today. Although other commitments mean that I am joining you from Brussels, I was determined to contribute to this important discussion. Let me begin by thanking the organisers for the invitation, and, more importantly, for placing financial wellbeing firmly on the agenda in Malta for the third year running. At the outset, I think it is important to be clear about what we mean by financial wellbeing, and what we do not. When we talk about financial wellbeing, it can be tempting to think first about how much money someone has. But I believe financial wellbeing is about something much more fundamental: freedom. It is about having enough control over your finances to make meaningful choices about your life. To deal with an unexpected expense without fear. To plan for retirement with confidence. To support your family. And, when possible, to put some money aside and make it work for your future. Income is, of course, fundamental. Financial knowledge cannot compensate for inadequate pay, precarious working conditions, or unaffordable living costs. But financial wellbeing also depends on the design of the financial system with which we interact every single day. It means having access to appropriate financial products, trustworthy information and advice, and the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions. So today I would like to focus my remarks on the work we are doing, at the Commission, to create more opportunities for Europeans to manage their money better. From my perspective, better money management requires three things: the knowledge to make informed decisions, access to suitable financial opportunities, and trust in the system. I'd like to take each of these in turn. In March 2025, the Commission adopted the Savings and Investments Union - or SIU – strategy, with the ambition of creating a seamless and fully connected financing ecosystem across the European Union. That means better opportunities for citizens to save and invest, and more financing opportunities for European businesses to grow and scale. The two reinforce one another, creating a virtuous circle. The first link in that virtuous circle are citizens. A genuinely citizen-centred SIU must give people both the opportunities and the confidence to make more of their savings. And this confidence comes with knowledge. Too many Europeans still lack the tools they need to make informed financial decisions. Financial literacy is a foundational element of financial wellbeing, yet financial education is still not a standard part of education in many EU Member States. That is why, in September 2025, we presented the first-ever European Financial Literacy Strategy. We do not intend to re-invent the wheel. Across all Member States, I have encountered many highly motivated stakeholders who are delivering truly impressive work. We intend to support that work, by identifying successful initiatives across the EU, increasing their visibility and helping scale them up. We want more citizens to participate in financial literacy programmes, identify where further action is needed, and ensure that effective programmes can access EU funding. Because knowledge builds confidence. Confidence enables informed choices. And informed choices give people greater control over their financial future. But increasing citizens financial know-how is only one piece of the puzzle. We also need to provide access to attractive opportunities to put that knowledge to work. This is why the Commission has adopted, in September 2025, a Recommendation to promote the creation of dedicated Savings and Investment Accounts across all Member States. The idea is actually very simple. An SIA is not an investment product in itself. It is an account through which people can invest in different products, such as funds, shares or bonds, in a simple and accessible way. Diversification and long-term perspective help manage the risk. And history shows why that long- term perspective matters: between 2009 and 2024, an investment in a diversified basket of European equities would have increased in value by more than 50% after inflation, despite periods of significant volatility, while money held in deposits lost more than 10% of its purchasing power in real terms. To be successful, we recommend that such Savings and Investment Accounts should be simple to set up and use, come without minimum investment limits and be accompanied by appropriate tax incentives and facilitated tax compliance procedures. Most importantly, citizens remain in control. A SIA does not tell people where to invest, how much to invest or whether to invest at all. It simply gives those who want to invest a simpler way of doing so. Because investing should not feel like something reserved for financial experts or for people with significant wealth. It should be an option available to everyone who wants it - including someone who may only be able to put aside a small amount every month. We are already seeing very encouraging signals, with many of the Member States that did not yet have such frameworks in place taking action to create them. Our ambition is simple, make investing easier to start, easier to understand and easier to make part of long-term financial planning. And when we talk about the long term, we inevitably need to talk about retirement. Investing and saving for retirement are different decisions, but they are part of the same objective: helping people build greater financial security throughout their lives. In November 2025, the Commission adopted a package on supplementary pensions. Here too, our focus is on giving citizens better opportunities to prepare for their financial future, by improving access to more effective supplementary pensions products and helping them secure an adequate income in retirement. As part of this package, we encourage Member States to introduce auto-enrolment, to make it easier for citizens to participate in supplementary pensions. But participation must remain a choice, citizens should always retain the freedom to opt out. We also promote the roll-out of pension tracking systems to give citizens a better overview of their pensions rights and enable them to identify possible shortfalls at an early stage. We are not seeking to replace national public pension systems, but to raise awareness and give citizens better options to supplement their pensions. Finally, through the Market Integration and Supervision Package, we are working to remove barriers to the cross-border provision of financial services, including investment funds in the EU. Greater market integration will increase competition, lower costs and expand choice for retail investors across the European Union. But knowledge and access will only take us so far. If we want more Europeans to invest, we must ensure that our markets, and the products offered within them, are worthy of their trust. This objective is at the heart of the Retail Investment Strategy. We introduced new rules to ensure that the products sold to European retail investors offer real value for money. We are reviewing disclosure and marketing rules, to make sure that the information investors receive about products is clear and easily understandable. And we aim to create a more seamless retail investor journey, notably by making it easier to access cost-efficient, diversified and non-complex products. Together, these measures will make investing simpler, fairer and more trustworthy, giving Europeans the confidence to participate in our capital markets. Ladies and gentlemen, both access and trust must advance together. Greater choice means little if citizens do not trust the products available to them; equally, confidence cannot translate into action if suitable and affordable opportunities remain out of reach. This is why we must work on both sides of the equation - opening up opportunities while ensuring that our markets deserve citizens' trust. Ultimately, financial wellbeing is having the security to withstand setbacks, the freedom to make meaningful choices, and the confidence to plan for the future. The success of the Savings and Investments Union will therefore be measured not only in capital raised or markets integrated, but in whether Europeans have greater control and options over their finances, and, through that, greater control over their lives. Because finance should not determine the choices people can make in life. It should give them more choices to make. Thank you. SPEECH/26/2176 <@rel_link@>
Speech Brief