Overview

• Brussels proposes expanding financial education across life stages and introducing easy-to-use savings and investment accounts to lower barriers for retail investors.
• The recommended accounts would be flexible, offer broad asset access, include tax incentives, and exclude very risky or complex products such as certain derivatives and some cryptocurrencies.
• The initiative seeks to channel household deposits into capital markets to support defence needs and the green and digital transitions.
• EU households hold roughly €10 trillion in bank savings, while a 2023 Commission survey found only about half of citizens possess average financial knowledge, with notable gaps among women and younger or lower-income groups.
• The package is advisory, with implementation left to member states and market actors, and the Commission cites an optimistic scenario where greater retail participation could add over €1.2 trillion to European investments over ten years.