This paper examines the 'making' of Capital Markets Union (CMU) through the theoretical lens of 'actor-centred constructivism', by considering the 'policy narratives' that bureaucratic actors have employed strategically to promote the project. It is argued that two main narratives were articulated by the European Commission in order to mobilise the political support necessary to push forward CMU and reduce potential opposition to it. The first narrative was to boost the size and internal and

more »

... ernal competitiveness of EU capital markets. The second narrative was the increased funding to the real economy, especially to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and infrastructural projects. The Commission used these narratives instrumentally in 'framing' CMU as a positive-sum game, rather than a zero-sum game with potential winners and losers.