European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled a huge 315 billion euro ($393 billion) investment plan Wednesday to "kickstart" the stalling economy, saying it would show the world that Europe is back in business.

His announcement comes a day after Pope Francis said in an address to the same parliament that Europe had become an "elderly and haggard" grandmother, and urged it to reclaim global leadership.

"Europe needs a kickstart and today the commission is providing the jump cable," Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

The eagerly awaited plan, the keystone of Juncker's five-year mandate, involves the EU setting up a 21 billion euro ($26 billion) fund with the aim of drawing in 15 times that amount in private investment.

Juncker hopes the proposal will boost desperately needed jobs and growth amid concerns that Europe's failure to recover from the financial crisis is dragging the world economy down with it.

"We need to send a message to Europe and to the rest of the world: Europe is back in business."

The former Luxembourg prime minister said he had a vision of children in the Greek city of Thessaloniki going to a school filled with computers, and French drivers charging their electric cars by the side of a motorway.