Brussels offers emergency help to six troubled members

(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission on Monday offered to help boost economic growth and employment in six nations hardest hit by crisis, including Greece, by lowering their share of investment in joint projects.

The proposal, to be approved by European Union nations and the European parliament, would lower from 15 percent to five percent the mandatory share of funding countries must contribute to projects co-financed by Brussels.

The measures would entail no overall increase in EU spending and would be "an exceptional temporary measure," Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn said.

Hahn said the scheme was addressed to eurozone nations Greece, Ireland and Portugal, bailed out by the EU and International Monetary Fund, plus Romania, Latvia and Hungary, which have also received financial assistance.

Because there would be no extra EU funding available, the nations involved would have to prioritise among projects already on the drawing board those focusing on growth and employment, such as retraining workers or investing in transport infrastructure.

The idea was to have vital projects off the ground by early next year to offer "extra breathing space," Hahn said.

Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso in June called for emergency measures for Greece to help pump up its economy by unlocking cash set aside under the EU's regional, fisheries, agricultural or cohesion funds.

As the funds require a nation to provide a percentage of the cost of each project, cash-strapped governments in Athens or elsewhere may be unable to put forward their share in a project and so could not access the funding.

The Commission said it believed the plan could unlock 2.8 billion euros ($4.0 billion) -- 879 million euros for Greece, 629 million euros for Portugal, 98 million euros for Ireland, 714 million euros for Romania, 308 million euros for Hungary and 255 million euros for Latvia.