Former Prime Minister and MEP Alfred Sant told the European Parliament that the only way by which to counter the imbalances created in the Eurozone is through a central investment fund, massive in scope and targeted to rebalance wealth and employment creation within the euro zone. Sant said that 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.’ Said the Maltese Europarliamentarian. Alfred Sant said that one thing is in 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. Sant made his comments at the European Parliament in Brussels which was discussing the ‘European Fund for Strategic investments’ proposed by the Juncker Commission to compensate for the lack of investment in the Eurozone.
‘I sympathize with people who argue that better this than nothing. However fundamentally, the malaise of the eurozone results from deep imbalances between its constituent parts.They have created a dynamic by which internal economic divergences continue to widen. The new investment monies being mobilised by the Juncker initiative are minimal, in relative and absolute terms. Most have been subtracted from monies voted by the EU for research, which is highly regrettable.’ Said Alfred Sant.
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