Kelly urges Commission to invest in people to address unemployment

Leader of the Fine Gael delegation in the European Parliament, Sean Kelly MEP has urged the newly elected European Commission to invest in people to address unemployment.

Addressing Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in the Strasbourg Parliament this morning (Wednesday), Mr Kelly welcomed the €300 billion investment plan and urged the President to progress it “I agree that it needs to be private sector driven – entrepreneurs create jobs, not bureaucrats.  I welcome your statement that tackling unemployment is your main priority.”

On energy security, MEP Kelly said: “We need to fast track the build out of Liquefied Natural Gas terminals on the West Coast of Europe.   We need to see EU funds deployed quickly so that electricity interconnectors can be quickly built and in so doing, intermittent renewables can be delivered to larger markets.”

A member of the Parliament’s Trade Committee, Mr Kelly called on the new Commission to quickly finalise the Singapore, US and Canada EU Trade agreements.

Mr Kelly raised concerns regarding the agriculture sector directly with President Juncker, which will be overseen by Ireland’s Commissioner Phil Hogan, “We have witnessed a raid on emergency funds available to aid European farmers in light of the Russian import ban.  I call on you to support the new Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan, and reverse the Commission decision of last week as one of your first actions in office so that funds are available to prevent a calamity in vulnerable rural areas of Europe.  The funds from the superlevy on milk, at the very least, should be used to tackle this crisis.”

MEP Kelly´s Speech in Penary 22/10/14