Ten years in. Still nowhere close.

The EU's been grinding away at this capital markets union idea for a decade now, trying to convince people to keep their money circulating inside the bloc instead of shipping it across the Atlantic. The result? A fragmented mess where member states can't align on a unified approach. Some of the 27 countries are just saying screw it and doing their own thing.

It's wild when you think about it—a whole decade of meetings, proposals, and bureaucratic theater, yet savers still prefer parking their cash in US markets. Maybe it's the regulatory complexity. Maybe it's trust. Either way, the lack of a cohesive framework is pushing capital outward when Europe desperately needs it flowing inward.

This split approach among member states isn't exactly screaming 'unified economic powerhouse.' More like a group project where half the team ghosted.