http://www.euronews.net/
Striking the balance between budget austerity and reviving lost growth
was the focus as EU leaders met in Brussels earlier for the start of a
two day summit. Despite more grim news on the job front - with
unemployment reaching a record high in the eurozone - Germany's
Chancellor insisted things were back on track, ahead of a new fiscal
treaty.
"This is an important step. We have shown here that we
are able to stabilise the European Union. We have made a major
breakthrough, which provides the chance for more political union,"
Germany's Angela Merkel said.
With the exception of the Czech
Republic and the UK, which both refused to take part in the German
driven fiscal pact, 25 other EU countries will sign.
Its aim, to get a tighter control of the bloc's debts.
Unlike
previous summits leaders were keen to stress this was not a crisis
meeting with provisional approval of Greece's latest rescue and a flood
of cheap ECB money offering some respite.
Nonetheless, the
latest job data remains a deep source of concern, particularly for
Spain. Behind closed doors the country's new leaders are reported to be
pleading for more realistic budget targets.