France is calling for faster progress on a capital markets union in the EU.
Long-term European investment products should be created for consumers, which would channel private assets into European investments instead of abroad, a position paper presented by the French Economy Ministry said on Thursday.
While households in the EU have savings assets of some €35,000 billion ($37,000 billion), often these wind up being invested in foreign funds, the paper said.
That means foreign countries benefit from the added value created by European companies. Savers should be given attractive investment opportunities within the EU, the paper argued.
French President Emmanuel Macron also called for more rapid implementation of the planned capital markets union. "Every year, our savings of around €300 billion finance the Americans," he said ina speech.
The money flows mainly into government bonds or as risk capital in the US, he said. "That's an absurdity."
Brussels has been working on the Capital Markets Union for years, aiming to slash bureaucratic hurdles between EU states to give companies more opportunities to raise money.
Currently, Europe's capital markets are still fragmented along national lines and European economies remain heavily reliant on banks for their funding needs, the EU has said.
The EU wants more small investors to be able to invest in local financial markets so more capital is available for its green and digital transition.
After years with little progress in bringing the European capital markets together, EU leaders also recently agreed to press ahead with the project.
