STRASBOURG: European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker was set to unveil an eagerly awaited 300-billion-euro investment plan in European Parliament on Wednesday, intended to boost the continent's flatlining economy.
The plan is the cornerstone of Juncker's five-year agenda to jumpstart the EU's moribund economy, which has failed to grow since the financial crisis and is mired in mass unemployment and near-deflation.
The new European Fund for Strategic Investment will be funded to the tune of 21 billion euros, but its work will have an net effect on the economy of about 315 billion euros ($390 billion), according to an official estimate.
As expected, overall responsiblity for the three-year plan will fall to the European Investment Bank, a little-known EU institution based in Luxembourg that is often criticised for its lack of ambition.
Juncker will formally introduce the plan to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday before submitting it to EU leaders at a summit in December.
The heart of the problem in the 28-nation bloc is a drastic lack of investment, which remains way off pre-crisis levels, in stark contrast to the US and despite unprecedented stimulus measures by the European Central Bank.
The plan announced Tuesday is designed to attack the investment problem head-on, but with the added challenge to do so without more public spending, with most EU countries already paralysed by high deficits and mountains of debt.
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