BRUSSELS: The European Union’s executive has proposed a plan to boost investment in the bloc’s flagging economy by 315 billion euros ($380bn) by attracting reluctant private investors with guarantees and seed money. Experts warn, however, it alone will not be enough to restart growth.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday that the long-awaited plan will use 21bn euros in money from EU institutions to entice spending on projects in education, transport, the digital economy and the environment.

Juncker estimated that every euro invested in the three-year scheme could attract private and public investment of about 15 euros. The Commission said the plan would create up to 1.3 million jobs to help alleviate high unemployment, which has been hovering around record rates in the EU since the financial crisis.

“We are offering hope to millions of Europeans disillusioned after years of stagnation,” Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

Published in Dawn, November 27th , 2014