Spain and six European countries launch the "Finance Europe" label to mobilise citizens' savings for projects that boost the European economy

The Minister for Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, together with representatives from the Netherlands and France

The launch of this label, under the joint leadership of the French and Spanish ministers - Eric Lombard and Carlos Cuerpo - took place during a ministerial event in Paris, attended by senior European representatives of the financial sector, including banks, insurers and major industry associations.

With around €35 billion in household savings, European citizens have a powerful tool to support growth and innovation in the European Union. However, too little of this capital is currently directed towards investment within Europe, limiting the Union's ability to fund strategic priorities such as innovation, green and digital transitions, defence and strategic autonomy.

The "Finance Europe" label is the first project to be launched in the framework of the Spanish proposal of the European Competitiveness Laboratory (LAB), which aims to accelerate the integration of the single market and support companies. The LAB was officially launched by Minister Carlos Cuerpo and a number of his counterparts last March in Brussels.

The Competitiveness Lab is an innovative tool aimed at advancing integration and mobilising private finance to drive European priorities and contribute to the Union's strategic autonomy.

"Finance Europe"

The "Finance Europe" label offers a clear and reliable solution, helping savers to identify investment products that directly support the financing of Europe's real economy.

To obtain the label, existing or newly created financial products labelled "Finance Europe" must meet three cumulative criteria: a portfolio allocation with at least 70% of assets invested in European companies; a minimum investment horizon of 5 years; and a substantial part invested in equities, without permanent capital guarantee, to encourage productive investment and thus contribute to economic growth. Greater participation of citizens in capital markets will also enable Europeans to save more efficiently. In addition, and within the framework of each country's regulations, products bearing this label may benefit from tax incentives to increase their attractiveness to investors.

The label will be implemented in a simple and decentralised way: banks, insurers and financial intermediaries will be able to offer labelled savings products as long as they comply with the approved common framework. The competent national authorities shall monitor compliance with these requirements, ensuring the transparency and credibility of the label.

At the presentation of the initiative in Paris, Minister Carlos Cuerpo highlighted the launch of the "Finance Europe" label, pointing out that "it is a pioneering instrument, more necessary than ever, to mobilise private resources that will enable us to meet the challenges we face at EU level. It will also allow us to make further progress on other concrete initiatives to mobilise citizens' savings and generate resources to finance strategic projects of European companies.

In this regard, the Minister for Economy, Trade and Business proposed to continue working, in collaboration with the European Commission and other international organisations and institutions, on initiatives that allow progress to be made on the priorities of the Banking Union and the Capital Markets, such as greater participation of citizens in the capital markets; facilitating access to financing for companies, especially SMEs; harmonising European legislation and removing barriers; and promoting financial education for citizens.

Non official translation