Socialists call for additional 10 bln Euro for the Youth Guarantee

S&D MEP and PES President Sergei Stanishev together with S&D Group President Gianni Pittella spoke at the opening of a seminar on ‘Investing in the Future’. The event discussed socialists’ priorities and suggestions for the implementation of Juncker’s plan for 300 bln Euro of public and private investments in the real economy.

Stanishev said that Socialists should take most credit for Juncker’s plan being put on the agenda of the Commission. ‘For the last 5 years our political family has been fighting against austerity which led to stagnation all over Europe. Jobs and growth can only be achieved through real policies which stimulate the economy. During the European elections campaign, PES fought for a real change in the EU. Juncker secured our support for Commission President because he committed to change the economic policies of Barosso’, Stanishev explained.

‘The reforms promoted by the Right-wing are based on nothing but austerity while we, the socialists, see reforms as real investments in human capital development, improvement of the standard of living and creation of new jobs. It is imperative now that the socialist family comes forward with a common position on the Investment Plan. The PES Presidency tomorrow will adopt a declaration to support such a position and it will also include some concrete suggestions for the Investment plan. We all fear that this plan, which will most likely be presented on 10 December, will not live up to our expectations to be the right tool for a real economic growth. This is why it is important for the socialists to come forward with their proposals now.

To sum up, Stanishev highlighted the main priorities for the socialists and democrats: mobilization of significant amounts of money through the European investment bank and the creation of a European investment instrument to boost private investment in Europe. These investments in turn should be channelled to key sectors for sustainable economic development – education, healthcare, modernization of transport, energy and communication infrastructure, railway infrastructure and innovations. ‘We expect tha Plan to propose real investments to fight youth unemployment. We insist that additional 10 bln Euro be set aside for the Youth Guarantee and it’s scope to be extended to young people under 30 years of age. There should be an economic blueprint for its application in 28 different Member States with different level of economic development and different budget capacities’, Stanishev concluded.