The European Commission unveiled on Wednesday a significant economic stimulus package worth 200 billion euros (260 billion U.S. dollars) in a bid to steer the European Union (EU) economy from a deep recession.

"Only through a significant stimulus package can Europe counter the expected downward trend in demand," the Commission said.

The sum amounts to 1.5 percent of the EU's gross domestic product (GDP), with 1.2 percent coming from EU governments and the rest from EU funding, which was higher than the 130 billion euros (169 billion dollars) previously suggested by the Commission.

"Exceptional times call for exceptional measures. The jobs and well-being of our citizens are at stake. Europe needs to extend to the real economy its unprecedented coordination over financial markets," said Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

He called the recovery plan "big and bold, yet strategic and sustainable."

Barroso said the plan does not mean EU countries should react in a uniform fashion, but provides a framework to coordinate national measures of different member states.

"Every member state is called upon to take major measures good for its own citizens and good for the rest of Europe," the Commission said.

The package includes extensive action at national and EU level to help households and industry and concentrate support on the most vulnerable. It puts forward concrete steps to promote entrepreneurship, research and innovation, including in the car and construction industries.

Member states are encouraged to step up spending on education and training, infrastructure and energy efficiency, etc. They are also given a free hand in reducing taxes to support consumption.

The plan aims to boost efforts to tackle climate change while creating much-needed jobs at the same time, through, for example, strategic investment in energy efficient buildings and technologies.

(Xinhua News Agency, European Commissionency November 26, 2008)