Call for Papers: ELF Capital Markets Union Study

Let’s accelerate the Capital Markets Union!

The European Liberal Forum (ELF) is launching a call for contributions to a collective volume on the Capital Markets Union (CMU). At a time when Europe faces increasing global competition, investment gaps, and geopolitical uncertainty, the development of a deeper and more integrated capital market has become a key priority. Therefore, this study aims to examine the CMU both as a policy concept and a practical project, and to explore its potential to strengthen the European economy and deepen the financial integration within the European Union.

The publication will analyse the economic, societal and strategic benefits of the CMU, while also generating new and innovative ideas for how the EU can move the project forward. Bringing together perspectives from academia, think tanks, policy institutions, and practitioners, the volume aims to provide both analytical insight and concrete policy recommendations for advancing the CMU.

Aims and Scope

The study will:

Provide an overview of the Capital Markets Union, including its origins, objectives, and the problems it aims to address.
Make CMU more understandable and tangible for a broader audience, including regular EU citizens.
Analyse the CMU from a liberal perspective: what are the gains of CMU when it comes to competitiveness, growth, innovation, economic resilience etc.?
Analyse the current barriers to implementing the CMU and moving it forward
Most importantly: Present innovative solutions to the existing barriers and evaluate how the EU can move forward quicker.

We welcome contributions from ELF Member Organisations, liberal researchers, practitioners, economists, industry and academics / civil society with relevant experience or insights. Contributions should be grounded in expertise and liberal democratic values and may take the form of policy analysis, conceptual discussion, or research.

Indicative Topics Submissions may address (but are not limited to) the following themes:

Defining and explaining what the CMU is and what effects it could have, both on macro-level for the EU as a whole, and on micro-level for individual citizens.
The benefits of CMU in specific areas such as competitiveness, green innovation, tech or economic sovereignty.
Innovative, practical ideas on how to accelerate in implementing a CMU.

Practical Details

Word count: Full chapters should be between 2,000 and 4,000 words.
Language: All contributions should be in English.
Timeline:
Abstract submission deadline:  May 17
Notification of acceptance: May 24
First draft due: June 30
Publication launch: End of 2026
Authors’ fee: 700 euros

Submission Guidelines Interested authors are invited to submit an abstract of max. 300 words, outlining the topic, structure, and main argument of the proposed chapter. Please include a short bio (max 100 words) with relevant experience and affiliation. Abstracts and bios should be sent to [email protected] with [email protected] in copy.

Selection Criteria Contributions will be selected based on:

Relevance to the topic and liberal perspective
Quality and originality of the proposal
Geographic and thematic diversity
Balance between theoretical and applied insights

This volume offers a timely opportunity to shape the discussion on an urgent European issue. We look forward to your proposals and to invent creative, tangible solutions to the CMU.

For any questions regarding the call, please contact Kristijan Kotarski (lead editor) [email protected]  or Maartje Schulz (policy and research manager at ELF) [email protected]