Makhlouf calls for faster push to Single Market
Central Bank of Ireland Governor Gabriel Makhlouf called on European policymakers to accelerate the completion of the Single Market across goods, services, and capital simultaneously during his address at the Eurofi Financial Forum in Dublin on September 17, 2026.
Capital follows real economic activity
Addressing the Eurofi Financial Forum, Governor Gabriel Makhlouf stated that Europe is not realising the full potential of its economy due to slow integration.
Makhlouf stressed that capital markets cannot function in isolation from the broader economy.
“You cannot have a genuinely integrated capital market without integrated goods and services markets, because capital follows real economic activity,” Makhlouf said.
He noted that cross-border banking requires a foundation of cross-border corporate activity.
Makhlouf called for simultaneous progress across goods, services, and capital, warning that structural barriers across national borders continue to hinder European financial integration and limit scale across the bloc.
Beyond capital requirements
Makhlouf highlighted that divergent national insolvency rules, fragmented employment regimes, and disjointed digital infrastructure represent the primary obstacles to cross-border banking.
“These do more to constrain cross-border banking than capital requirements ever could,” he said.
The Governor argued against rolling back post-crisis financial regulations, asserting that post-crisis modernisation built vital resilience.
Instead of lower standards, European banks require an integrated, barrier-free market to complete the Banking Union.
Right diagnosis, stalled execution
Makhlouf accurately identifies national legal barriers as the primary obstacle to European financial integration.
However, linking capital market progress to full economic union risks deepening policy inertia.
Without national concessions on corporate law, such ambitious integration plans remain largely academic.