First, we must integrate the single market more, including the creation of an optional 28th regime, that could reduce the administrative burden for businesses cross-border, and particularly the “cost of failure”v. Second, we need to invest better. I welcome the March 2025 Savings and Investments Union (SIU) Action Planvi to channel more of our abundant private savings into European equity financing and venture capital. Third, we need to innovate faster, and the Commission has therefore presented several “Omnibus” simplification packages.

True, we still need a comprehensive package and a mobilizing deadlinevii, as Jacques Delors did in the past with 1 January 1993 for the single market, and 1 January 1999 for the single currency. True, progress takes time, partly due to the necessary dialogue with the European Parliament. But this belongs to democracy, which we strongly believe in, and Europe has often managed to deliver the right policy framework faster on several key issues such as crypto-asset regulation with the MiCA regulationviii, ahead of GENIUS.

II. Despite their recent divergence on trade, Europe and the United States should still seek pragmatic areas of convergence.

1. Our recent transatlantic divergence 

When we disagree across the Atlantic, we should express it clearly: this is a prerequisite for fair dialogue. We cannot ignore the serious disagreements between European and US political authorities on geopolitics and multilateralism. Let me focus here on the economic divergences, and particularly on trade. The protectionist measures adopted by the United States – unprecedented since the 1930s – alongside persistently high unpredictability, represent a negative shock for the global economy, including the American economy itself. In the short term, tariffs do offer a sizeable source of fiscal revenues. But they will not solve the problem of US “twin deficits”. The tariff burden is already primarily borne by US importing firms and in a lesser extent US consumers, and this will eventually weaken economic activity and increase inflation, which is expected to accelerate by the end of the year. What is bad news for the United States is also bad news for Europe. The impact on euro area inflation, however, should remain negligible as the European Union did not retaliate. Let me state the obvious: international trade is not a zero-sum gameix, where one party’s gain necessarily comes at the expense of another. On the contrary, it remains the most effective way to grow together by exchanging goods and services, ideas, talent and innovationx. 

2. This should not prevent us from seeking pragmatic areas of convergence

But our transatlantic dialogue cannot be limited to our divergences. We must seek pragmatic areas of convergence through the G7 and the G20, respectively chaired next year by France and the United States, through the IMF where I will be tomorrow, and through the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Let me highlight pragmatically at least three global issues, where our mutual interests could be aligned.

Financial stability

I shall begin with financial stability – a global public good, given the cross-border nature of the financial system. I strongly wish we can all stick to the agreed international framework of Basel III for banks and more broadly to the Financial Stability Board (FSB) recommendations. Let us focus on two of the many challenges ahead.  

First, the fight against financial crime. Europe and the United States should continue to lead by example by strengthening their AML/CFT frameworks and actively encouraging other countries to support the recent G7 “Financial Crime Call to Action”xi . We should also be vigilant there about the misuse and abuse of cryptos.

Another shared challenge is non-bank financial intermediation (NBFIxii) which remains too opaque, highly interconnected, and, in some cases, excessively leveragedxiii.