L'European Union (EU) is the third world economy, and the household savings rate is one of the highest. However, when our businesses develop, they often turn to foreign financial markets. For what ? Because we export a large part of our savings, supporting innovation elsewhere, while many of our own start-ups struggle to access the funding necessary for their growth.
The time of change has come and Europe must invest more in her. This is why seven European countries, representing more than half of the EU economy, joined forces, Thursday, June 5, to improve our savings framework in order to channel this savings towards more investment in the economy of our continent. Let's start with the figures.
In 2024, the EU economy generated a production of 17,900 billion euros. Wealth and value are therefore clearly created in Europe on a very large scale. At the same time, European households are among the largest savers in the world, putting aside around 13 % of their income each year, five points more than American households. This represents 1,000 billion euros in new private savings each year, a large part of which remains underused, in cash or on low-yield deposit accounts. In total, this has been a capital of 35,000 billion euros over the years.
At the same time, Europe must invest at least 5 % of its economy, up to 800 billion euros per year, to fill the technological and productivity gap which separates it from its main competitors. If we add new defense and security needs, this figure could easily exceed 1,000 billion euros.
In this period of increasing geopolitical tensions and increased obstacles to trade and financial flows in the world, this savings is a strategic asset for Europe, which we must mobilize to help fill this investment deficit.
You have 59.03% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
Source: Lemonde