Policy Focused Debate

📅 4 November 2026

🕔 From 16:00 to 18:00 

📍 European Parliament, JAN 2Q

Introduction and Concept

Restoring Europe's competitiveness is a defining priority of the current Commission. As part of this agenda, and in line with the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) strategy, the Commission adopted on 17 July 2026 its Communication on the Competitiveness of the Banking Sector and the Single Market in Banking. It will serve as the foundation for a legislative Banking Competitiveness Package expected in the first quarter of 2027, with EU leaders calling for political agreement before the end of 2027.

The Communication starts from the assessment that EU banks have become resilient, well-capitalised and profitable, but that the sector remains fragmented along national borders and that parts of the regulatory framework are unduly complex. It sets out measures built around three objectives: (i) fostering integration with appropriate safeguards, including more efficient allocation of capital and liquidity within cross-border groups and a new proposal to replace the 2015 EDIS proposal; (ii) implementing international standards while taking into account EU specificities, including clarifying the output floor and reviewing the treatment of specialised lending; and (iii) simplifying the microprudential, macroprudential and resolution framework, including removing the Pillar 2 leverage ratio add-on, aligning MREL more closely with TLAC and cutting reporting data points by 50%.

The international context adds to the urgency. The EU has largely completed its implementation of Basel III, while other major jurisdictions have delayed or adapted parts of the standards, fuelling concerns that European banks compete on an uneven global playing field. At the same time, banks are expected to finance innovation, the green and digital transitions, defence and strategic autonomy, and to help channel savings into capital markets. This session will examine whether the Commission's approach can strengthen the sector's competitiveness while preserving the resilience achieved since the global financial crisis.

Questions for discussion

This event will explore whether the Commission's proposed direction can deliver a more competitive, integrated and resilient EU banking sector, and what the forthcoming package should contain. Speakers will discuss the following topics:

• How should banking competitiveness be defined and measured, and which barriers deserve priority attention?
• How can the EU reconcile simplification, deeper market integration and international competitiveness while preserving the high levels of resilience achieved since the global financial crisis?
• Which measures should be prioritised to deepen the Single Market for banking?
• What role should banks play in financing Europe's competitiveness, including innovation, strategic industries and the SIU?
• Given the complexities surrounding EDIS, what would be the best way forward?
• Are there aspects the Commission has not identified that should be addressed in the upcoming package?

Confirmed Speakers

• Jonas Fernandez, Member of the European Parliament (S&D, Spain)
• Isabel Benjumea, Member of the European Parliament (EPP, Spain)
• Nathalie Berger, Acting Deputy Director-General, DG GROW, European Commission
• Paulina Dejmek Hack, Director General,DG FISMA, European Commision

The event will be followed by Networking Drinks.

Don't miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation. We look forward to welcoming you!

This event is reserved for EPFSF members and EU institutions staff. For more information and registration, contact us at secretariat@epfsf.org