EU’s Largest Economies Push to Reduce Reliance on Foreign Payment Systems

Finance ministers from the EU’s six largest economies — Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain — issued a joint letter Wednesday urging the European Commission to develop a comprehensive strategy aimed at boosting Europe’s autonomy in payments infrastructure. The ministers emphasized the need for swift action to address vulnerabilities in the bloc’s payment ecosystem.

“Given the urgency of sovereignty issues in the field of payments, we strongly call the commission to prepare and swiftly issue an ambitious and encompassing EU-strategy promoting strategic autonomy and reducing EU dependencies in retail, wholesale and business payments,” the ministers wrote in the letter.

The appeal reflects growing concerns among European policymakers about the region’s dependence on global payment companies, particularly US-based networks such as Visa and Mastercard, which handle a large share of digital transactions across Europe. EU officials have been exploring ways to strengthen domestic alternatives and reduce exposure to external systems, according to Bloomberg.

European Council President Antonio Costa has previously highlighted the importance of building a European digital payments infrastructure. “It’s clear that we need to have a payment digital infrastructure in Europe to allow us to make payments without any kind of dependence,” Costa told Bloomberg last month.

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Beyond payments, the ministers also called for faster progress on the EU’s long-discussed savings and investment union, describing it as an urgent priority for strengthening Europe’s economic growth and productivity. The initiative aims to deepen capital markets across the bloc and improve access to financing for businesses and investors.

According to Bloomberg, the group voiced strong support for the Markets Integration and Supervision Package introduced by the European Commission last year. The package is a central component of the broader savings and investment union plan and includes a proposal to expand supervisory powers at the European level.

One of its most debated elements would transfer certain oversight and enforcement responsibilities to the European Securities & Markets Authority (ESMA), the Paris-based EU markets regulator. The move is intended to enhance coordination across member states and improve oversight of cross-border financial infrastructure.

The ministers said deeper capital markets and improved investor access are essential to strengthening Europe’s financial system. They also backed the idea of gradually moving toward centralized oversight for “the most systemic, relevant, cross-border financial market infrastructures,” while cautioning that reforms should avoid unnecessary duplication or additional costs.

At the same time, they stressed that regulatory authority must remain aligned with financial accountability. “Supervisory responsibility and fiscal accountability go hand-in-hand,” the ministers noted in the letter, per Bloomberg.

The push from the EU’s largest economies signals growing momentum behind efforts to strengthen Europe’s financial sovereignty, particularly as geopolitical and economic tensions prompt governments to reassess their dependence on foreign financial infrastructure, according to Bloomberg.

Source: Bloomberg