During a discussion with Portuguese journalists in Brussels, European Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque supported the new EU strategy focusing on optimizing citizens’ savings. She stated that such accounts are “clearly a good alternative” to fixed-term deposits, where “people believe they won’t need that money in the near future.”
“Looking at statistics, even regarding the development of the Portuguese market, […] the returns are higher,” added the official in charge of Financial Services and the Union of Savings and Investments.
“What we want, in fact, is for European citizens—naturally including Portuguese citizens—to have all these opportunities available to them,” she noted.
Advocating for a new “investment culture” within the EU, Maria Luís Albuquerque urged countries like Portugal to establish Savings and Investment Accounts to “give people the possibility to save for a longer term, with an increase in their knowledge and understanding of taking a risk for higher returns.”
“We also recommend that Member States accompany these accounts with tax incentives,” she stated.
Maria Luís Albuquerque highlighted that there is over 11 billion euros in deposits within the EU that are losing value and need to start yielding returns.
The European Commission is thus calling on countries to create Savings and Investment Accounts to facilitate operations of buying and selling assets flexibly, particularly in EU countries where such mechanisms don’t yet exist, like Portugal.
The accounts are to be offered by authorized financial service providers, including online platforms, allowing small investors to enter capital market instruments.
Frequently, these accounts offer tax benefits to encourage their use.
These financial instruments aim to preserve and enhance citizens’ savings with low risk, by investing in stocks, bonds, or funds.
The idea is to have simple and accessible accounts (already present in countries like Sweden or Germany, with potential adoption elsewhere) that encourage citizens to invest a portion of their savings.
In Portugal, these accounts do not yet exist.
Other existing options include fixed-term deposits and traditional savings accounts (secure but low-yield), government-issued savings certificates (guaranteed capital with variable interest), Retirement Savings Plans—PPR (with tax benefits and retirement focus), and funds or stocks for risk-tolerant investors.
Most Portuguese maintain a conservative profile, favoring guaranteed capital financial products.
The European Commission estimates generating at least 1.2 trillion euros over 10 years by encouraging EU citizens to channel their savings into productive investments, focusing on financial literacy and more accessible models.
With less than one-fifth of Europeans demonstrating high financial literacy, the strategy proposed by the European executive also includes communication and awareness campaigns, as well as financing research within this field.
