‘We need to talk about money’

On 25 January 2022, Commissioner McGuinness gave a speech at an online launch event organised by the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/International Network on Financial Education (OECD/INFE) for the launch of the ‘Financial competence framework for adults in the European Union’. Ms McGuinness began by setting out why financial literacy is so important – a lifetime requires making many complex financial decisions, and someone who is financially literate is better equipped to make the right choices. But, she says, levels of financial literacy in the EU are very low. So the framework sets out the knowledge, skills and attitudes that adults need to be financially literate. It defines key financial literacy competence areas, for example planning a budget, investing or borrowing. And it includes digital and sustainable competences. The goal, Ms McGuinness says, is for governments, educational institutions, businesses and individuals to use the framework to develop policies, programmes and educational materials.    

You can read the full speech here