One thing is common among those who push for all-out fiscal consolidation and those who insist that the total priority must be economic stimulus: both agree that investment in Europe is lagging too much. The EU fund for Strategic Investment by the Juncker Commission is being proposed to compensate for this deficiency. It has been criticised as being too little, too late. Also, the really new investment monies being mobilised by the initiative are minimal, in relative and absolute terms. Most have been subtracted from monies voted by the EU for research, which is highly regrettable. I sympathize with people who argue that better this than nothing. However fundamentally, the malaise of the eurozone results from deep inbalances between its constituent parts. They have created a dynamic by which internal economic divergences continue to widen. Perhaps the only way by which to counter the inbalances is through a central investment fund, massive in scope and targeted to rebalance wealth and employment creation within the euro zone. The Juncker fund has no chance of achieving this target.
Nor does it have that ambition. For that reason I fear that it will make hardly any dent on economic stagnation in Europe.

[Maltese Version]
Dawk li jimbottaw favur konsolidament fiskali sħiħ u dawk li jinsistu li trid tingħata priorità totali lill-istimolu ekonomiku għandhom xi ħaġa komuni bejniethom: it-tnejn jaqblu li hemm nuqqas kbir ta’ investiment fl-Ewropa. Il-Kummissjoni Juncker qed tipproponi l-Fond tal-UE għall-Investiment Strateġiku biex tikkumpensa għal dan in-nuqqas.

Saret il-kritika li dan ġie tard wisq u jammonta għal ftit wisq. Ukoll, il-flejjes tassew ġodda li qed jiġu mobilizzati għall-investiment permezz ta’ din l-inizjattiva huma pjuttost ċkejkna ħafna, f’termini relattivi u assoluti. Bosta minnhom ittieħdu minn flejjes li l-Unjoni Ewropea kienet ivvotat għal riċerka – ħaġa li hi deplorevoli għall-aħħar.

Inħoss simpatija għal dawk in-nies li jargumentaw kif aħjar dan il-Fond milli xejn.
Madankollu fondamentalment, id-diffikultajiet taz-zona ewro jirrizultaw minn zbilanċi profondi bejn il-partijiet li hi magħmula minnhom.

Huma ħolqu dinamika li biha d-diverġenzi ekonomiċi interni baqgħu jinfirxu. Forsi l-uniku mod kif nistgħu nilqgħu għal dawn l-izbilanċi hu permezz ta’ fond ċentrali ta’ investiment, ta’ daqs massiċċ u mmirat biex iwassal għal ħolqien ta’ ġid u xogħol ibbilanċjat aħjar fi ħdan iz-zona ewro.
Il-fond Juncker ma għandu l-ebda possibiltà li jilħaq din il-mira. Lanqas għandu l-ambizzjoni li jagħmel hekk. Għal din ir-raġuni, wisq nibza’ li ftit li xejn se jkollu xi effett fuq l-istaġnar ekonomiku fl-Ewropa.

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