Friedrich Merz said the EU needed a unified stock exchange to ensure that innovation and prosperity stay in Europe.

A trader sits at his desk at the Frankfurt Stock exchange in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on June 24, 2016. Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Oct. 16 called for the creation of a pan-European stock exchange to boost growth and help European companies compete with their Asian and U.S. counterparts.
Addressing lawmakers in Berlin, Merz said Europe’s fragmented capital markets were holding back growth and innovation, warning that the bloc risked losing economic independence without major reforms.