Capital Markets Union

2015 Action Plan for Capital Markets Union

In September 2015, the European Commission published the Action Plan on Building a Capital Markets Union (CMU), which was intended to unify the capital markets across the European Union’s 28 Member States, promote investment and boost growth in the EU, and broaden the range of financing options for growing companies.

The action plan identified key steps to achieve a CMU:

1. •

   providing more funding choices for businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by:

   1. ◦

      modernising the EU prospectus regime

   2. ◦

      launching a package of measures to support venture capital and equity financing

   3. ◦

      promoting innovative forms of business financing, and

   4. ◦

      exploring ways to build a pan-European approach to better connect SMEs with different types of funding, including money-lending and donor platforms, peer-to-peer lending, and crowdfunding

2. •

   ensuring an appropriate regulatory environment for long term investment and financing of Europe's infrastructure

3. •

   investing for the long term, infrastructure and sustainable investment

4. •

   increasing investment