European Summit: growth will come with reform and investment

"Europe’s economy needs more investment to help boost growth. The much-needed 300 billion-euro investment plan, which the European Commission will present before Christmas, will be crucial for that. Member States should support and accompany this plan,” said Manfred Weber MEP, the Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, on Friday. "But EU budgetary rules must be respected by all Member States. This is not negotiable. The EU must fight for its credibility," he said. "Not for dogmatic reasons, not for the sake of sticking to the rules, but because there is no other choice. Only with sustainable budgets and reforms

will we be able to bring back sustainable growth."

"The EU is the world leader on climate policy and in the fight against climate change. We are setting an example to our partners in the world, to China, India, the United States. We can only convince them to join our efforts if we are united on ambitious and realistic goals. The agreement reached at the European Council on an ambitious climate plan is therefore very good news," Manfred Weber said. The EPP Group Chairman especially welcomed the decision by Heads of State and Government to do more for energy interconnections: “Energy efficiency and improved interconnections in the energy sector are crucial to reach these ambitious goals,” he concluded.