THE WALLOON MARSHALL PLAN
[BIZ: Liège, October 26] The original post-war 1947 Marshall Plan, named after US Secretary of State George C. Marshall, was a program in which the US offered up to EUR 20bn for relief in Europe on the condition that Europe’s nations got together and drew up a rational plan on how they would use the aid. For the first time they had to act as a single economic unit and would have to cooperate with one another. It’s worth bearing these provisos in mind. In the context of the Walloon plan, EUR 1.4bn will be invested over the next four years. The money will come, in part, from the sale of part of the package of shares that the Walloon region has in the Arcelor steel group, almost half from the traditional budgetary margins, and a further part from alternative financing, such as debt. A future-orientated budget covering several years will be drawn up to cover the development. From the total, EUR 150m will go to research, EUR 280m into growth hubs or centers, EUR 160m into education, EUR 93m into tax reduction, and EUR 872m will be used to encourage business activity. There will be five centers of activity, which will receive targeted promotion to make them internationally competitive. These sectors include biotechnology, mechanical and precision mechanical engineering, transport, aerospace, aircraft construction, and the food industry. Another important issue is the creation of free zones in which there will be considerable tax relief to attract investors and also to make municipalities with socio-economic problems more attractive. Furthermore, new businesses will be brought into newly renovated and graded business parks and buildings. There will be a language plan, which will encourage the study of other national languages, in addition to French, Dutch, German, and English. The training of qualified specialists will be given priority so that new jobs and vacancies can quickly be filled. Research will receive three-dimensional support, that means for the institutions themselves, for the economic players, and the relationship between the two. These plans for the future, intended to combat the decline since the 70s and the high rate of unemployment (18%) particularly among young people, have been welcomed from many sides, although there has been some skepticism from the Liberal side in the form of Federal Minister of Finance Didier Reynders.
The Walloon Marshall Plan is a plan to reinvigorate the economy of the Walloon region in Belgium. A full description of the proposals is available in French and Dutch at the link at the end of this article.
Check the website for details in two languages.
(Source: www.debelux.org)
http://www.contratdavenir.wallonie.be