REUTERS: EU executive sees personal savings used to plug long-term financing gap

It looks as if taxpayers’ money is not enough for the European Union to fund investments. Therefore there are reportedly thoughts to use the savings of 500 million EU-citizens and pour them into investments.

Reuters – Exclusive:

             EU executive sees personal savings used to plug long-term financing gap

“The savings of the European Union’s 500 million citizens could be used to fund long-term investments to boost the economy and help plug the gap left by banks since the financial crisis, an EU document says.

The EU is looking for ways to wean the 28-country bloc from its heavy reliance on bank financing and find other means of funding small companies, infrastructure projects and other investment.

“The economic and financial crisis has impaired the ability of the financial sector to channel funds to the real economy, in particular long-term investment,” said the document, seen by Reuters.

The Commission will ask the bloc’s insurance watchdog in the second half of this year for advice on a possible draft law “to mobilize more personal pension savings for long-term financing”, the document said.

Banks have complained they are hindered from lending to the economy by post-crisis rules forcing them to hold much larger safety cushions of capital and liquidity.

The document said the “appropriateness” of the EU capital and liquidity rules for long-term financing will be reviewed over the next two years, a process likely to be scrutinized in the United States and elsewhere to head off any risk of EU banks gaining an unfair advantage.

The EU executive will also complete a study by the end of this year on the feasibility of introducing an EU savings account, open to individuals whose funds could be pooled and invested in small companies. (Read FULL ARTICLE IN REUTERS)

I don;t know how much serious are the EU executives about this creepy plan but I hope they will ask me first before they will grab my 125,46 EUR from my savings account.

On second reading, I see that the evil EU plans refer to personal pension savings.

Further explanation is needed here: What pension savings is the EU executive talking about?