EN - #EPhearings2014 Hearing of Jyrki KATAINEN (EPP, FI), Vice-President designate for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness: opening statement by Jyrki KATAINEN - ITRE EMPL &ECON; Joint Committee - 07.10.2014 - Brussels. Jyrki Katainen: "I also belong to a generation which had the chance to join an ERASMUS programme. This changed my life. My family would never have been able to send me abroad to study with other young Europeans, had it not been for ERASMUS. (...) I have crystalised my chore values to four points: encouragement, civilisation, tolerance and social responsibility. These four values are my starting point for creating new, inclusive and sustainable growth in Europe. (...) We need action on both demand and supply sides. As part of the comprehensive and coordinated policy response involving all EU institutions and instruments. First of all, we need to focus on investment which has fallen by almost 20% since the start of the crisis.(...) Well regulated financial markets can ensure that investment goes where it is most needed. We should ensure more diversified sources of finance are available to help European companies grow their business and create jobs. (..) We need to open up markets for companies to offer new and better goods and services to consumers. This is true both for the internal market and for markets beyond our frontiers where 90% of future global growth will come from. (...) We will support the roll-out of new technologies. Renewable energy and energy efficiency as one example, are sectors where Europe can be world leaders, creating new jobs while making a critical contribution to our climate change objectives and to our own energy security.In particular, I want to support SMEs. They are the real lifeblood of our economy. We need a deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base, and a better business environment. (...) The most important capital we have is human capital. All Europeans should have the opportunity to maximise their potential through education and training that equips them with skills they need to try in the modern global economy while supporting the most vulnerable. (...) We need an unprecedented mobilisation of public and private sectors. The Commission, the EIB, the Member States to pull together the 300 billion package. As important as the quantity will be the quality of the investments. It is productive, real investment that we need. I don't want 300 billion on a table, but I want 300 billion of real investment to support jobs and growth over the next three years. Let me be clear: we need a fresh impetus for growth, jobs and investment without creating new debt. And for that we will need to mobilise bot public and private money in new ways." © Frédérick Moulin 2014 - EU2014 - All rights reserved.

• published: 07 Oct 2014
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