Liberal group leader and former prime minster of Belgium Guy Verhofstadt says the investment should be made conditional on structural reforms, and that the plan should be accompanied by regulations to further unify the EU's single market.

He says he supports a guarantee scheme to boost lending, and calls on the Council of Ministers to prompt the member states into supporting greater investment too.

The Liberal group have also come up with their own plan, external, which they say would mobilise around €700bn in investment.

They have also criticised the plan being put forward by the Socialists, since they say it relies on setting up a fund that is financed with contributions of the member states, thus creating more public debt.

Conservative MEP and ECR group leader Syed Kamall says the "key" to the plan will be to push through reforms that allow the proposed investment to happen, by cutting regulation to increase business confidence in the eurozone.

"Tell us why the private sector is not investing at the moment, and maybe we will support your project", he concludes.

Socialist group leader and Italian MEP Gianni Pitella says that his group "linked" their support for his campaign to become Commission president to his promise for further investment.

He welcomes the plan as a "first step", but adds the he feels there is "a long way to go" in spurring investment in Europe.

The Socialist and Democracts group have come up with their own investment plan, external, which they reckon would total some €400bn in investment from public and private sources.

Described as "shock therapy" for the EU economy, they say that there should be a guarantee that investment in energy and the digital economy will receive public funds.

Centre-right EPP group leader and German MEP Manfred Weber outlines his support for the idea that the plan should not add further to public debt in Europe, saying he the plan should concentrate on spending already-existing capital "in a better way" without undermining confidence in the credibility of national budgets.

Saying that investment in Europe is around 15-20% behind pre-crisis investment levels, European Investment Bank (EIB) president Werner Hoyer outlines his support for the plan, to which he says the EIB will be contributing €5bn.

He adds that financing for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) varies greatly between the EU member states, and repeats his faith that the plan, whilst not a "silver bullet", can make a "real difference" to investment Europe.

Pledging that the package needs to be "operational" by next June, he says the plan will be a "convincing test of credibility" to allay the concerns of the market about the EU's economy and increase lending to small and medium-sized businesses.

"There will be no turning back," he concludes.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has been keeping interest rates low for a while in order to help spur growth and investment in the eurozone.

Earlier this month, its chief Mario Draghi told MEPs on the economic affairs committee that it stands prepared to take "further measures" to revive the struggling eurozone economy, including buying sovereign debt, if necessary.

"We don't have a money tree," he continues, before adding that the effect of the investment package will be greater if member states also agree to step up their levels of investment.

He says his package amounts to "greatest effort in recent EU history" to stir investment without changing the rules.

Just over a week ago, the Financial Times reported, external that Jyrki Katainen, the commission vice-president overseeing the plan, might be going on road shows to global financial capitals such as New York and London to stir up interest in private investment for the package.

He adds that whilst investment in the US is currently growing, it is €370bn down in Europe compared to pre-crisis levels.

He notes, however, that national EU budgets "are already stretched" and that his plan will not "betray our children and grandchildren" by increasing government debt, or comprising the bloc's deficit pact, which limits public deficits to 3% of national GDP - a target that several countries are already missing at the moment.

"Christmas has come early", begins Jean-Claude Juncker, outlining that his plan today is the fulfilment of a promise he made to the Parliament during his campaign to become president to present his plan before the end of the year.

He continues that the unveiling of the plan today is about sending a message that "Europe is back in business", adding that "no tree can grow on soil and air alone", and that his plan for investment will provide the "watering can" to spur growth in the EU.

Parliament President Martin Schulz is in his seat, and we'll be getting underway shortly.

It is understood that the package is likely to include using a certain amount of initial public money - around €21bn - as "seed money" to try to spur private lenders into investment.

The aim would be to raise around €315bn in investment overall over three years, which can be particularly targeted at crisis-hit areas of the EU such as Greece and Spain, where private lenders have been unwilling to lend since the financial crisis struck.

Hello and welcome to BBC Democracy Live's coverage of this third day of this week's plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The first item on this morning's agenda is a statement from European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker about his proposed €300bn investment package to boost the struggling EU economy, to be spread over the next three years.

After he has finished speaking, there will be speeches made on behalf of Parliament's seven political groups to give their response to the plan.