Share

EU's Juncker pledges investment plan for jobs

Strasbourg - The incoming head of the EU executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, told the European Parliament on Wednesday that he would present his €300bn plan for investment to bolster growth and jobs by the end of this year.

Switching significantly to German during a keynote address ahead of a parliamentary vote to endorse his new European Commission, Juncker said investment was vital to restoring growth and creating jobs. Germany, Europe's dominant economy, is resisting calls for it to spend more to kick-start growth.

Juncker, a conservative former prime minister of Luxembourg, stressed, however, that, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said, that much of the €300bn should come from private investors and that governments should continue to contain their budget deficits.

"If you give us your support today, we will present the jobs, growth and investment package before Christmas," Juncker told parliament in Strasbourg, adding that investment should focus on improving economic efficiency, not short-term spending.

Berlin has been resisting calls from other eurozone states and beyond for it to increase public investment spending to rekindle economic growth on the continent.

Juncker also said that the European Union's budget rules that limit the size of government deficits and public debt will not be weakened. The commission is preparing a review of the rules and their effectiveness with a report due by the middle of December, while France and Italy are pushing for more leniency in required budget consolidation efforts.

"The rules will not be changed," Juncker said. "But they can be implemented with a degree flexibility."

Investment, he said, was only one part of a three-pillar strategy, along with structural reforms of national economics and renewed fiscal credibility for governments.

Vote

The major parties in parliament are set to endorse the 28-strong new Commission in a vote after 10:00 GMT and the new executive will take office on November 1, replacing that led by outgoing President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Juncker pledged a "very political" team that would focus during its five-year mandate on carrying out major programmes while leaving lesser matters to national governments - a key demand from Britain, where there are strong demands for the country to quit the EU.

He said a new, two-tier hierarchy commission whose number has soared with the expansion of the EU to 28 member states, was designed to make it more efficient and to break down "parochial attitudes" in which commissioners pursued individual projects. A new layer of vice-presidents would coordinate them.

Acknowledging the surge in anti-EU sentiment during elections to the parliament in May, Juncker said the union had to show Europeans it was working in their interests.

"Citizens are losing faith," he said.

"Extremists on the left and right are nipping at our heels. Our competitors are taking liberties. It is time we breathed a new lease of life into the European project."

He stressed that economic improvement was vital: "Either we succeed in reducing unemployment. Or we will have failed."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.02
-0.6%
Rand - Pound
24.00
-0.4%
Rand - Euro
20.53
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
-0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.6%
Platinum
901.20
+0.5%
Palladium
997.97
-0.4%
Gold
2,210.69
+0.7%
Silver
24.71
+0.3%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,075
+0.6%
All Share
74,269
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,834
+2.1%
Industrial 25
103,553
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,490
-0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders