Euronext welcomes Merz's call for a European stock market

Euronext Supports Merz's Vision for a Unified European Stock Market

Euronext's Role in European Stock Market Integration

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Euronext CEO Stéphane Boujnah on Thursday welcomed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's call for a European stock exchange to support European companies and growth.

Merz's Proposal for a Unified Exchange

"Euronext has always been driven by the strong conviction that in Europe it's always possible to succeed together rather than fail separately. Euronext is ready to contribute to the next level of consolidation of markets in Europe to create a deeper liquidity pool to finance the growth of European companies," Boujnah said in an emailed statement.

Challenges of Market Fragmentation

Euronext, which manages exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo, and Paris, has been making overtures to other European operators in an effort to consolidate what former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, among others, has called an overly fragmented market.

Impact on European Companies

DEUTSCHE BOERSE CRITICISES FRAGMENTED MARKETS

Responses from Deutsche Boerse

Merz earlier on Thursday called for stock market integration. "We need a kind of European Stock Exchange so that successful companies such as BioNTech from Germany do not have to go to the New York Stock Exchange," he said in a speech to the German parliament.

Deutsche Boerse, the German stock exchange operator, said in a separate statement that it also welcomed Merz's calls for stronger capital markets, and blamed market fragmentation for holding back initial public offerings in Europe.

"With over 500 trading venues, the EU has not only created the most fragmented market, but also the least transparent, with only around 30% of stock trading taking place on transparent exchanges," Deutsche Boerse said.

(Reporting by Tom Sims. Editing by Thomas Escritt and Mark Potter)