On Wednesday the European Commission has strongly urged the France "to clarify the budgetary strategy which will enable it to correct its excessive deficit and reduce its debt. The latter has in fact intended to increase "substantially because of the likely deficit, but also as a result of the issuance of public debt to finance public investment."In other words, Brussels is concerned about an economic policy which aims to increase the debt …
Ambitions intact
The Government does not intend to revisit all his ambitions downwards coincidence, François Fillon returned Wednesday by the Council of Ministers launched the operational program for future investments – 35 billion that will go into teaching Higher education, research, industrial clusters and SMEs, sustainable development and digital.
The Prime Minister announced the holding of an interdepartmental committee before the end of April, "after which will be signed the first agreements between the State and operators responsible for the granting of funds" (OSEO, National Agency for Research Fund deposits …).
These agreements specify the selection process of projects – they will catch up to France, while creating wealth and jobs – and the arrangements for monitoring investments. They make it possible to launch "within weeks" of the first calls for projects for their selection as 2010.
The first would involve investment in high speed, "a subject on which we want to go fast," said a government source.
Moreover, the list of international juries who must select the campus of excellence is almost ready and their choices, investment monitoring, should be done quickly.In the field of nuclear research, the government also wants early investments occur this year.
Other actions, which do not require the launch of calls for projects, will lead "to finance faster," says Matignon. This applies for example to strengthen the core of OSEO to 1.5 billion euros, the granting of "green loans" subsidized industrial enterprises and aid for thermal renovation of housing for households with low incomes.
The Commissioner General for investment, Rene Ricol, has his eye on a single euro spent … What reassure Brussels?
