EU Plans Crypto Oversight & Pension Reforms to Boost Markets

The European Union’s ambitious financial reform package, dubbed the ‘Savings and Investments Union,’ represents a comprehensive effort to mobilize household wealth and strengthen Europe’s financial autonomy. Financial Services Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque, speaking at the Eurofi Forum in Copenhagen, detailed plans that include auto-enrolment pensions and tax incentives designed to boost long-term savings. The initiative specifically targets cross-border barriers in trading, seeking to create a more integrated European financial market that can compete effectively on the global stage.

Commissioner Albuquerque emphasized the strategic importance of pension reforms, noting that ‘pensions, by their very nature, are long-term. That is why they are such powerful drivers of capital market development.’ The proposed auto-enrolment system would automatically enroll workers in pension schemes, while tax incentives would encourage additional voluntary contributions. This approach aims to create what Albuquerque described as ‘a virtuous cycle of investment, where our citizens can invest in their own futures and in the future of our economy.’

A central component of the reform package involves potentially significant expansion of the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) powers. Commissioner Albuquerque confirmed that the EU is ‘looking at possible centralized supervision of certain market infrastructures, such as central counterparties, central securities depositories, and trading venues.’ This represents a substantial shift toward more unified oversight of critical financial infrastructure across member states.

Perhaps most notably, the proposal includes granting ESMA authority over Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs), acknowledging that ‘new and rapidly evolving areas where supervisory capacities need to be up to the task’ require specialized oversight. Albuquerque stressed that any transfer of powers to ESMA ‘would not sideline national authorities,’ but instead create a framework for joint oversight that could better manage cross-border risks and ensure consistent enforcement across the bloc. This balanced approach seeks to maintain national expertise while addressing the borderless nature of modern financial markets.

The EU’s reform push comes amid growing concerns about Europe’s competitive position in global finance. Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi recently warned that Europe was ‘failing to match the speed’ of global financial change, a critique that has intensified pressure on Brussels to accelerate long-stalled efforts to deepen its capital markets. This sense of urgency is particularly acute given the United States’ advancement with its first stablecoin law, which represents a significant leap in digital asset regulation.

The market reform and pension initiatives coincide with ongoing debates about the digital euro’s design, including whether to issue it on public blockchains like Ethereum or Solana. While Commissioner Albuquerque did not directly address the digital euro debate, she made clear that Europe’s competitiveness ultimately depends on building deeper capital markets and stronger pension systems that can channel long-term savings into the economy. The simultaneous consideration of these various initiatives reflects a comprehensive approach to modernizing Europe’s financial infrastructure in response to both technological innovation and global competitive pressures.