A high-level conference was hosted by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and the Government Offices of Sweden on April 3, 2025, gathering stakeholders for a discussion on how to strengthen the capital markets within the EU.
On Thursday, April 3, wide representation from the Nordic-Baltic countries and from EU institutions, the financial sector and the industry, as well as several international guests, gathered for a full-day conference at the Technical Museum in Stockholm. The agenda included discussions on how EU capital markets can be developed to meet Europe’s investment needs and leverage our opportunities in a way that contributes to Europe’s competitiveness, while promoting the long-term interest of retail savers.
The conference, jointly organized by the Government Offices of Sweden and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, was timely as the European Commission just recently presented a strategy for a Savings and Investment Union aiming to increase access to finance, facilitate cross-border investment within the EU and promote growth and prosperity. Strong, well-functioning capital markets are critical for businesses and are key to achieving the EU’s long-term goals, such as the twin transition and a more competitive and resilient EU.
The day included a number of high-level speeches and panels, and we are truly grateful for the contributions and perspectives provided by our distinguished speakers and guests. Jacob Wallenberg, Chairman, and Jan-Olof Jacke, CEO of Swedish Enterprise, opened the day by setting the scene. The European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investment Union, Maria Luís Albuquerque, then held a keynote speech focusing on the strategy recently presented by the European Commission, which was followed by reflections from Jyrki Katainen, Head of Group Public Affairs at Nordea, and Karel Lannoo, CEO of the think tank CEPS in Brussels.
Oya Celasun, Deputy Director of the European Department of IMF held a special address providing a global perspective on the Savings and Investment Union and Mats Isaksson, Director of the Swedish Corporate Governance Institute and Member of the Swedish Corporate Governance Board, presented the Swedish example, setting out important building blocks for a strong and inclusive capital market. A panel discussion put the Nordic-Baltic ecosystem in a European context through a discussion between the panelists Uldis Cērps, CEO of Finance Latvia Association, Roland Chai, EVP and President European Market Services at Nasdaq, Erik Thedéen, Governor of Sveriges Riksbank, Micaela Thorström, EVP Legal and General Counsel at Stora Enso and Valerie Urbain, CEO of Euroclear.
The second half of the conference was opened by the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, with a speech that covered the Swedish journey, emphasizing the importance of national measures to increase savings in equity and mutual funds in EU member states. Following this keynote address, a Ministers’ panel provided perspectives from Nordic-Baltic governments and the Polish presidency. The panel consisted of the Latvian Minister for Finance, Arvils Ašeradens, the Polish Deputy Minister for Finance, Jurand Drop, the Estonian Minister for Finance, Jurgen Ligi, the Lithuanian Minister for Finance Rimantas Šadžius, and the Swedish Minister for Financial Markets, Niklas Wykman.
The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise welcomes the European Commission’s focus on capital markets and the strategy and ambitions for the Savings and Investment Union and is happy to have contributed to an open discussion on how to strengthen the capital markets within the EU
The day was concluded with a panel discussion on how to mobilize capital for investments, one of the key aims of the Savings and Investment Union Strategy. The panel consisted of Andrea Beltramello, Head of the Capital Markets Union unit in the European Commission, Christian Clausen, Chairman of BlackRock Nordics, Kilvar Kessler, Chair of the Management Board of the Estonian Supervision and Resolution Authority, Idar Kreutzer, EVP International Affairs of Norwegian Enterprise and Kristin Magnusson Bernard, CEO of Första AP-fonden (AP1).
The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise welcomes the European Commission’s focus on capital markets and the strategy and ambitions for the Savings and Investment Union and is happy to have contributed to an open discussion on how to strengthen the capital markets within the EU. We believe that it is important to leverage the diversity in the EU by improving each individual market through a structured process of peer exchanges, support and pressure to drive reform at national level. The EU has an important leadership role in this context, not least to showcase good examples and solutions. See a brief comment from the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise on the Savings and Investment Union Strategy here.