SOCIAL POLICY : UNIONS CALL FOR NEW INVESTMENT PLAN.

Just hours before the opening of the December European Council meeting in Brussels, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) called for the adoption of a plan to relaunch investment, sustainable growth and quality jobs.It also announced a major European demonstration on 4 April, but did not support the hundreds of protestors who took to the streets of the Belgian capital on 19 December to demonstrate against austerity measures, the budgetary pact and the transatlantic trade pact.

NEW PATH

During a press conference, on 18 December, European trade unions called on EU leaders to replace austerity with a plan to reboot sustainable growth and quality jobs. During ETUC's Executive Committee meeting, on 7 November, the unions adopted the major elements of this plan, called A new path for Europe'.

The plan proposes a target of investing an additional 2% of EU GDP per year, over a ten-year period. This would be done through direct investment, reduced-rate loans, investment aid and/or the recently introduced project bonds. Investment priorities would be energy transformation, education, development of broadband networks, public and private services, social housing, etc. The plan would be open to all European countries, although "investment would be reserved for countries that contribute". It would be managed by an EU institution, such as the EIB or a new...