Stefan Berger, spokesperson for the European Union (EU) Parliament, said that the EU Commission’s plan to encourage citizens to invest is a positive step that relies on boosting financial literacy and trust. The statement was made on X.
“EU Commission wants to turn Savers into Investors – absolutely right,” said Berger. “A good first step is: promote financial education and strengthen trust. Fittingly: Bitcoin at new All Time High at 125,000 $”
Beginning in March 2025, the European Commission will introduce its “Savings and Investments Union” (SIU) strategy. This initiative aims to incentivize European households to shift from passive saving toward investment in capital markets. The goal is to channel funds into productive growth sectors while strengthening the EU’s financial resilience. The initiative builds on prior efforts like the Capital Markets Union and seeks to harmonize disclosure rules, propose new “savings + investment” account blueprints, and boost financial literacy among citizens. The Commission describes SIU as a “horizontal enabler” to support the EU’s green, digital, and competitiveness goals.
According to Eurostat data, in the euro area, the household saving rate stood at 15.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024, remaining consistent with the third quarter of 2024. In broader EU data, households’ investment rate has been persistently lower—around 9.5% in recent years. This disparity highlights how much of household income remains in low-yield savings rather than being deployed into capital markets.
Retail investment through funds has risen in recent years: in 2024, EU households injected €258 billion into investment funds—the second-highest annual amount on record—and the share of retail clients in total assets under management grew from 26% in 2019 to 30.8% by end-2023. These trends reflect growing household engagement with capital markets across Europe.
Stefan Berger is a German politician from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He sits in the European People’s Party group and is active especially on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Subcommittee on Tax Matters, serving as rapporteur on the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) file, signaling his focus on digital finance and regulatory oversight. Berger’s prior political career includes membership of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament and academic work in economics.
The European Parliament is the EU’s directly elected legislative institution, with members elected every five years; it shares law-making and budgetary power with the Council under the “ordinary legislative procedure” and also exercises oversight of the Commission. It debates, amends, and approves legislation proposed by the Commission—including economic and financial regulation—and can reject or delay EU law via its co-legislator role. It also supervises budgets, approves Commissioners, and monitors executive actions.
