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Last week's European Council was about combining short term action to stabilise the markets and medium term action to stimulate growth, together with a longer-term vision on the way forward to strengthen our Economic and Monetary Union.
It was a sometimes difficult but in the end fruitful meeting. It was another step on the long road to overcome the financial and economic crisis and to correct the structural flaws of the euro-area framework. The steps we took last week were important on a number of fronts.
First, we put together and decided on a “Compact for Growth and Jobs”.
It will mobilise €120bn for immediate investment, which will boost the financing of the economy and help create jobs.
A 10 billion euro increase of the capital of the European Investment Bank will increase the Bank's overall lending capacity by 60 billion euro.
The other 60 billion euro comes, first, from the structural funds which will be devoted to growth enhancing measures in the current period (55 billion) and, second, from the pilot phase of Project Bonds that will be launched this summer and will go to key initiatives such as energy, transport and broadband infrastructure (almost 5 billion).
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