The future of European stock markets

Alasdair Murray look at how the absence of a single market in equities within the EU increases the cost of capital and restricts Europe's ability to close the economic gap with the United States. The creation of a single market in financial services is one of the European Union's great unfinished projects. While Europe has found the will to push ahead with more ambitious schemes, such as the euro, its attempts to liberalise financial services have faltered, hampered by political disagreements and the EU's cumbersome legislative apparatus.