The annual reception of Deutsches Aktieninstitut signals the commitment of German industry to a strong and competitive Europe

At today’s annual reception, the President of Deutsches Aktieninstitut, Melanie Kreis, emphasises that the EU serves a guarantor of democracy and prosperity. Looking to the European elections in June, she calls on the European parties to put strengthening the competitiveness of the European Union, the economy and the capital markets at the top of the agenda.   

"We need attractive market-based framework conditions and more efficient legislation in the EU. Close dialogue with companies is essential to ensure that regulation is more practical and does not paralyse innovation. Deutsches Aktieninstitut is available for dialogue at any time," stated Kreis. "In light of the European elections, we are calling on the parties and EU institutions to noticeably strengthen Europe's global competitiveness, the attractiveness of the business location and the European capital markets. Only with a strong economy will we be able to overcome the many challenges we face."

Increasing competitiveness

The Green Deal must be fine-tuned with a view to the EU's competitiveness. "The goal is to design the Green Deal in such a way that companies have enough room in practice to drive the transformation forward with innovations. The large number of inconsistent and unclear requirements and reporting obligations tie up too much capacity," stressed Kreis. "The sustainability reporting obligations were created under great time pressure in the last legislative period. It is important to review the reporting obligations for their consistency and relevance, and to make adjustments where necessary. We call for the swift implementation of the target set by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to reduce reporting obligations for companies by 25 percent."

Strengthening capital markets

Powerful capital markets are a key factor in financing the extensive investments needed to transform the European economy. In addition to an attractive legal framework, the capital market must become deeper and broader. Only in this way can the necessary annual investment volume of 600 billion euros be realised.

This is also a challenge for the member states, which can, for example, ensure a significant inflow of funds to the capital markets by switching to a more strongly funded pension scheme. At the same time, equity-oriented pension provision stabilises people's pensions thanks to attractive returns. The state is thus relieved of having to make high contributions to the pension fund.   

"Europe is facing immense economic and political challenges. Right-wing populist and anti-European tendencies are becoming more and more prominent in the political debate. We are all called upon to counter these developments and to stand up for democracy," says Kreis.