Economic Recovery Plan: Priority for green investment

10.22.00am GMT Thu 27th Nov 2008

Graham Watson MEP

Local Liberal Democrat MEP Graham Watson has welcomed that the European Commission reaffirms the principles of a market economy and budgetary discipline in the Recovery Plan launched today. Graham Watson MEP believes that the financial crisis should not mark the return towards the old economy but on the contrary should be the occasion to turn all investment efforts towards sustainable development and the creation of well paid employment that will be Europe's future.

"The European Commission proposals contrast with G20 conclusions in Washington which relegated sustainability to a penultimate sub-point in the penultimate point", underlined Graham Watson MEP, who continued: "the Commission package has demonstrated a greater awareness of the advantages of green investment and green growth. Europe should prioritise sustainable economic growth as the means to recover from the current recession."

Here in the South West region we have a lot of green energy potential we can unlock. There is no reason why we should not be at the forefront of the 'green' industry."

"The European Commission must be careful not to allow the temptation to return to the past to detract from current efforts to implement the Lisbon Strategy. We should, for example, resist unnecessary subsidies for industry. If we want European industry to thrive we need to find ways of boosting green industrial products and consumer spending power as priority," concluded Mr Watson.