The Finnish former Premier is to be the commissioner for the economic miracle; or as Berlaymont puts it “Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness. “ his duties will be to co-ordinate the commissioners with financial portfolios. The big questions were about the €300bn investment package, which may or may not have any funding. There were no answers. However, Katainen was on the defensive over strict austerity measures, including Finland’s strict terms for Greek loans as well as those in Portugal and Spain. MEPs from the south gave the Finn a tough time and he was reduced to pleading “Let’s stop remembering what has happened in the past and look to the future.” He argued for fiscal discipline and growth, but he was less clear on how this might happen. “We need a fresh impetus for jobs, growth and investment, without creating new debt, and for that we will need to mobilise both public and private money in a new way,” he said. In the end, it was enough, but the left and Greens were far from impressed.
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.neurope.eu |
