[AMNA]
Eurogroup chairman Kyriakos Pierrakakis is championing a plan for the Savings and Investments Union across the European Union that would turn the €10 trillion of idle deposits of European citizens into a growth instrument for the bloc.
The aim, as the Greek Finance Minister himself wrote in Sunday’s Kathimerini, is to help EU citizens invest and enterprises to draw funds from larger pools, lowering the cost of their financing.
The main pillars of the plan are the unification of capital markets, the facilitation of cross-border investments and the creation of new savings accounts.
The latter already exist in a number of countries, securing high returns. They are a special type of account that complements conventional savings accounts with investments of as little as €10 per month in securities, bearing special tax privileges.
“The Savings and Investment Union constitutes the greatest political challenge of our generation. It constitutes a substantial opportunity for Greece and, at the same time, a decisive tool for the strategic autonomy of the EU and the strengthening of European competitiveness at a global level,” Pierrakakis wrote.