Companies Shareholder activists support Merz's proposal for a European stock exchange
Europe produces successful companies, but they often prefer the USA for an IPO - like the Mainz-based vaccine developer Biontech or the payment service Klarna. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) wants to change this.
18.10.2025, 04:17
SDA
He is calling for a common European stock exchange. This has met with much approval, but implementation is complex. "Mr. Merz's proposal is the ideal solution for Europe," says Marc Tüngler, Managing Director of the investor protection association DSW. A central European stock exchange, for which Frankfurt would offer itself, would bundle liquidity. "However, this is opposed by national interests, as all countries want to have their own stock exchange."
More than 500 trading venues in the EU
Merz recently called in the Bundestag for the power of the European single market to be better utilized. "We need a kind of European Stock Exchange so that successful companies such as Biontech from Germany don't have to go to the New York Stock Exchange." The Mainz-based vaccine developer, which made a name for itself during the coronavirus pandemic, went public on the US technology exchange Nasdaq in 2019.
The SPD Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil is "fully supportive". He said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington that this was a sensible step when it came to advancing the convergence of the European capital markets.
Deutsche Börse also welcomed Merz's initiative. "With over 500 trading venues, the EU has not only created the most fragmented market, but also the most non-transparent, with only around 30 percent of share trading on transparent exchanges," explained the Dax group. Strengthening the capital markets is necessary in order to overcome important social challenges - such as corporate financing or pension provision.
11.5 trillion euros in savings accounts
There are strong stock exchanges and large investors in the USA, while the capital markets in Europe are fragmented. The EU has been struggling for years to deepen the financial markets in Europe, but implementation is faltering.
According to the European Central Bank (ECB), there is an estimated 11.5 trillion euros sitting in people's savings accounts in Europe. "This money is losing value, as the return minus inflation is negative," says Tüngler. If only some of it were to flow into the capital markets, the sums involved would be enormous. "However, channeling savings into the capital markets doesn't work in Germany." Merz's idea is a good one, says Tüngler. "Now action must follow."
