EU ECOFIN adopts capital markets integration package, boosting cross-border investment

After over ten years of discussion, the EU Council of Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) approved a comprehensive capital-markets integration and supervision package. Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare announced that the new framework will provide an "investment passport," enabling large companies to conduct business across multiple EU countries at once, thereby increasing capital flows and potential growth for markets like Romania's. He explained that the legislation reduces market fragmentation, cuts bureaucracy, and creates clearer EU-wide supervisory rules, while also enhancing the ability of Romanian regulators to protect investors and access transaction data from other member states.

The package, known as the MISP, was the result of intensive negotiations involving the National Bank, the Financial Supervisory Authority, and all EU finance ministers. The final phase will involve talks with the European Parliament to cement the new rules. Nazare emphasized that the measures aim to attract more foreign investment into Romanian firms and simplify cross-border financial activities.