THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

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To conclude this 2014 Report on the State of the European Union we offer
a number of recommendations, as discussed by the European Affairs Council
of the Fundación Alternativas.1
1. Promoting the growth, employment and investment we need to
escape from the crisis
– The Union must refocus its economic policy on investment, aban-
doning the failed obsession with austerity that has been pursued so
relentlessly since 2010. The Juncker plan is a positive step but is not
enough, and it should be expanded with both public and private
capital.
– The European Parliament should consider the social consequences
of radical austerity, with Juncker already having recognized that this
policy was adopted without taking account of its impact on the
rights of European citizens.
– Public investment in education, alternative energy and R&D+i
should not be included when calculating the deficit the EU permits
member states to run.
– These policies should lead to the growth of employment so that, by
the end of the European legislature, the level of unemployment
would be close to half of the current level.
Recommendations
European Affairs Council of the Fundación Alternativas
1The European Affair Council of the Fundación Alternativas is composed as follows: Diego
López Garrido (Director), Nicolás Sartorius, Juan Moscoso, Carlos Carnero, Vicente Palacio,
Manuel de la Rocha Vázquez, José Candela, Jesús Ruiz-Huerta, Enrique Ayala, Carlos Closa,
José Manuel Albares, José Luis Escario, María Muñiz, Emilio Ontiveros, María Joao Rodrígues,
Francisco Aldecoa, Soledad Gallego, Irune Aguirrezábal, Josep Borrell, Doménec Ruiz and
Xavier Vidal-Folch. Permanent guests at meetings of the Council are Michale Ehrke, Delegate
to Spain of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and María Pallares, programme coordinator, also of
the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.