Juncker unveils $390b plan to ‘kick-start’ EU economy

STRASBOURG, France (AFP) ― New EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled Wednesday an eagerly awaited 315 billion euro ($390 billion) investment plan to “kick-start” the economy, saying it would show the world that Europe was back in business after years of crisis.

Juncker said the proposal, which must be approved by European leaders at a summit in December, would mix an investment fund with a scheme to match new projects with private money.

“Europe needs a kick-start and today the commission is providing the jump cable,” Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

“We need to send a message to Europe and to the rest of the world: Europe is back in business.”

The new European Fund for Strategic Investment will be funded to the tune of 21 billion euros, but Juncker said its work will have a net effect on the economy of 15 times that, about 315 billion euros.

The plan is the cornerstone of Juncker’s five-year agenda to revive the EU’s moribund economy, which has failed to grow since the financial crisis and is mired in mass unemployment and near-deflation.

When he took office on Nov. 1, Juncker had promised to unveil the plan by Christmas so that it could be up and running as soon as possible amid renewed global concerns over Europe. “I promised to present an ambitious investment package by Christmas. Today Christmas has come early.”

The former Luxembourg prime minister rejected criticisms that the fund contains no new money and only reengineers existing funds.

“I often hear what we need is so called fresh money but what I believe we need is a fresh start and fresh investment,” Juncker said, speaking mainly in English. “The money we are putting forward today comes on top of what already exists.”