ECB's Nowotny hails EU stimulus plan as growth booster

[VIENNA] European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny hailed a planned 300 billion euro (US$372 billion) investment programme by the European Commission as a step to boost lagging investment that will weigh on productivity growth in Europe.

"The new European Commission is setting the right priorities by proposing an investment package combined with regulatory reforms targeted toward fostering smart infrastructure, education, research and energy," he said in the text of an address to an economic seminar on Monday.

Mr Nowotny said that the central, eastern and southeastern Europe (CESEE) region had the best long-term growth prospects in Europe but the annual growth differential to the eurozone average would likely drop to below 2 percentage points from up to 4 points in the past.

REUTERS