Governor Gabriel Makhlouf says Europe must move faster to complete Single Market
17 September 2026
Press Release
Central Bank of Ireland Governor Gabriel Makhlouf today (Thursday 17 September) spoke at the Eurofi Financial Forum held in Dublin, where he said Europe needs to move faster on the completion of the Single Market.
Governor Makhlouf said: “We need to create One Single Market – in goods, services, and capital simultaneously – and we need to move faster than we are moving now.”
He said that Europe is “not realising the potential of the European economy.”
Governor Makhlouf said: “You cannot have a genuinely integrated capital market without integrated goods and services markets, because capital follows real economic activity. You cannot have genuine cross-border banking without cross-border corporates. We need one Single Market – in all its components – and we need to move faster to realise it.”
On ensuring the banking sector helps to deliver sustainable growth, rather than reducing resilience, Governor Makhlouf called for a focus on reducing fragmentation, completing the Banking Union and the removal of obstacles such as divergent insolvency and employment regimes and fragmented digital infrastructure. “These do more to constrain cross-border banking than capital requirements ever could,” he said.
The Governor added that Europe’s competitive advantage in a fragmenting world lies in its commitment to stable rules, open markets and credible institutions. He added a well-functioning financial system for Europe should be resilient, well-regulated, integrated and innovative.
Governor Makhlouf said: “The post-crisis modernisation has created resilience that has seen the financial system through significant shocks. What European banks and capital markets need is not less resilience. What they need is a market worth operating in, a market that is deep, integrated and genuinely single and barrier-free. It means finishing the Banking Union and completing the Single Market. These are not separate agendas: progress on each depends on progress on all.”
ENDS
Further information:
Martin Grant / 086 078 7868 / martin.grant@centralbank.ie
Media Relations: media@centralbank.ie