[HIGHLIGHTS] The EU has “immense” investment needs in climate protection and defense

ECB boss Lagarde estimates the expenditure necessary to meet the climate goals by 2040 at 800 billion euros. Another 75 billion euros are needed so that all EU countries can achieve NATO's goal of spending at least two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, said Lagarde.

Progress on the European Capital Markets Union is therefore “urgent”. The EU wants to improve cross-border capital flows and improve access to finance, especially for small and medium-sized companies.