Knowledge is power - the importance of financial literacy

On 7 September 2022, Commissioner McGuinness gave a keynote speech on financial literacy at the Bruegel Annual Meeting. She began by saying that what she hopes to see is everyone in Europe having the knowledge and confidence to manage their personal finances – but added that today, this is not the case. Ms McGuinness stressed that in these difficult times, financial literacy – while obviously not a panacea – has a vital role to play because it is easier for a financially literate person to understand what is going on in the wider economy, and therefore make more informed decisions and better prepare for challenging times. Ms McGuinness went on to talk about what the EU is doing to try to boost financial literacy, citing in particular the financial competence framework, which the European Commission has developed with the OECD. She concluded by looking forward to what’s coming up in the next few months, including the new Retail Investment Strategy.

You can read the full speech here