EU Prime Ministers, Presidents and Chancellors attending this week’s European Summit are being urged to agree, and increase, the European Commission’s €315bn investment package by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
“Europe is desperate for investment and jobs” said Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary of the ETUC, responding also to Commission President Juncker’s statement ahead of the Summit. “The Juncker investment plan is not enough, but it is a start and must be given the green light. That is the absolute minimum that Europe’s 25 million unemployed deserve.”
“National Governments should commit to achieve the €315bn, and beef up the investment well beyond that level.”
“Governments should insist that investments are be made in projects which generate the most jobs, and where jobs are most needed.”
“They also need to ensure proper democratic scrutiny of the European Fund for Strategic Investments with a role for the European Parliament as well as for employers and trade unions.”
The ETUC is concerned that it will be hard to generate €315bn investment from just €21bn public money (mainly guarantees). It is also sceptical of the impact on the EU economy of €315bn over three years, when the investment shortfall every year since the crisis is estimated to be at least €280bn a year (Juncker’s plan for €105bn per year = 40% of the annual estimated investment shortfall - for the next three years only).
The ETUC has an investment plan for 2% of GDP, approximately €250 billion per year , for 10 years.
The ETUC is also critical of the continued insistence to combine investment with “structural reforms” and “growth friendly fiscal consolidation” as the foundation for growth and jobs in Europe, as repeated in the draft Council conclusions.
Bernadette Ségol said “Growth friendly fiscal consolidation is vacuous jargon disguised as an oxymoron. There has never been, and never will be, any such thing as growth-friendly cuts. How it is supposed to be a pillar of EU economic policy is completely beyond me.”
She added “Many structural reforms end up with people having less money in their pocket to spend on goods and services – which is the exact opposite of creating growth.”
