"In my opinion, regional and local authorities feel co-responsible for supporting the development of SMEs and for the development of the infrastructure in Europe. The creation of the capital markets union may help in the future to protect the interests of local communities that very likely in a few, maybe several years will be forced to seek new funding opportunities for development in different markets. It is also a chance for the implementation of projects over the next decades that are subject to significant costs and risks. Capital markets union can bring to local governments the chance for further, stable and sustainable development. Pointing to the potential problem of a lack of harmonization of financial markets, as some Member States are not part of a banking union, I believe that the purpose of the capital markets union is not to replace banks in the European economy. Therefore, for the Committee of the Regions and local and regional authorities across Europe it is very important to actively participate in the process of creating a union of capital markets" – said Mr Truskolaski after adoption of his opinion.