Worldwide plastics ban

EU presidential candidate Weber wants worldwide plastics ban

Call is part of 12-point plan to be unveiled by center-right nominee this week.

By CARMEN PAUN

Manfred Weber, the European People's Party candidate for president of the European Commission, wants to propose a global treaty banning disposable plastics.

The proposal is part of a 12-point plan that the center-right candidate will announce in Athens on Tuesday as part of his campaign program, Bild am Sonntag reported.

The EU ban on single-use plastics is not enough, Weber told the German newspaper. "If we do not fight worldwide very quickly against littering the seas, the next generation will have immense problems. I will propose a global treaty banning disposable plastics," he said.

Weber also wants to ensure that EU trade agreements lead to the end of child labor worldwide, Bild am Sonntag said, although it did not provide any details of how Weber plans to achieve this aim.

Currently a German member of the European Parliament from Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU), Weber will also promise 5 million new jobs for young people across Europe — an issue expected to resonate with a Greek audience, given that the country is struggling with high youth unemployment. Previous initiatives to address the problem have done too little, Weber said.

He is also expected to propose that the European Investment Bank provides housing loans to young families so they can afford low-interest property.

When it comes to dealing with migration, Weber wants to beef up the European Border and Coast Guard with at least 10,000 more border guards by 2022.

The Commission presidential candidate also wants to cut bureaucracy in the EU by abolishing 1,000 "superfluous" EU laws.