Volonteurope: Invest in the Common Good for Europe
Last week the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, launched an ambitious EU Investment Plan to “get Europe growing again and get people back to work”. The plan is to be implemented through the new EU Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI).
The prospect of investment in education, employment, digital and energy infrastructure, and innovation and research are certainly to be welcomed. As Social Platform (of which Volonteurope is a member) has highlighted, investment in Europe’s future is not to be regarded as an expense that adds pressure to Member States’ or European budgets in times of austerity. Rather, investment is desperately needed if Europe is to overcome its current social crisis and put people back in the centre of economic policy.
However, a multi-billion investment plan is not the magic solution to Europe’s social malaise if it is not an investment in people and communities. Developing transport and communication infrastructure is a step in the right direction, but Europe needs to be more ambitious than this. The current crisis is not rooted in lack of infrastructure but in lack of prioritisation: human capital and the social health of Europe have been neglected in the name of fiscal consolidation and GDP growth (which, in any case, have not been achieved).
The Investment Plan has to go beyond simply stimulating economic growth and promote the “Common Good for Europe”. A common good approach puts the wellbeing of people first as it seeks to benefit everyone in society, not only vested interests within specific sectors. It is underpinned by certain types of behaviour, that is, behaviours that promote inclusion, fairness, transparency and, very importantly, empowerment.
The way investors and political institutions behave is crucial. They can choose to take advantage of a publicly-backed Investment Plan to maximise private sector profit and improve economic statistics, or they can involve all stakeholders in planning investment that increases the life opportunities and inclusion of the most disadvantaged groups in society.
This requires courage and vision.
