by Marcus Papadopoulos
POUL NYRUP RASMUSSEN, president of the Party of European Socialists in the European Parliament, has branded the European Commission’s economic recovery plan as “complacent”.
He said the plan, put forward by Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, is “completely misplaced and complacent”.
He added: “Why doesn’t the European Commission tell the truth? The economy and employment are in freefall. The European economic stimulus package is nowhere near the 3.3 per cent of GDP that the Commission claims; the real total stimulus is less than 1 per cent. The decline in GDP is not going to be 2 per cent as forecast by the Commission; it may be as high as 4 per cent.”
Mr Barroso has described the plan as “comprehensive and ambitious” and claimed it would, if implemented, “bring the help needed to Europeans today”.
The economic recovery plan comprises two key pillars: first, injecting “purchasing power” into Europe’s economy in order to “boost demand and stimulate confidence” and, second, directing “short term action to reinforce Europe’s competiveness in the long term”.
Mr Rasmussen warned that unless a new recovery plan is unveiled, “there will be 25 million unemployed in 2010”.
He said: “There must be real co-ordination focused on real investments. Europe also needs to do more for the countries of central and eastern Europe.
“It is in our common economic and political interest to prevent financial meltdown in those countries. Europe talks a lot about solidarity; now is the time it is really needed. It must be tackled now.”
