EPP Group President Michael Schneider took the floor at the CoR plenary session to stress the need for the Luxembourg Presidency to begin work on the implementation of the Investment Plan for Europe, in reply to the intervention of Dan Kersch, Minister of Interior of Luxembourg.
"The Investment Plan offers great potential and local and regional authorities are happy to contribute to this. But, it is now fundamental to provide them with in depth information on how EFSI can be used, in cooperation with the structural funds, so investment plans and projects can be implemented" he said.
The EPP Group plans to produce a practical guide for local and regional authorities interested in making use of the Investment Fund for the Madrid EPP Congress in October. Minister Kersch replied by underlining that the Luxembourg Presidency will also work on cutting red tape to ensure that EU funds are well spent.
Pavol Frešo took the opportunity to underline some of the immediate challenges that Europe is facing and where the Luxembourg Presidency will have to respond, such as the influx of immigrants and the situation in Greece.
• Luxembourg Presidency website
• Interview with Ali Kaes, member of the EPP Group in the CoR