EU leaders hold broad talks on growth

　　BRUSSELS, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Top leaders of the European Union (EU) Thursday held broad talks on growth without making concrete decisions on the first day of the two-day spring summit in Brussels, against the backdrop of easing market pressure but rising unemployment rate.

　　"Employment, especially youth employment, was at the heart of our discussion tonight, more than ever," European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said at a press conference on Thursday night.

　　The president brought forward four strands to tackle Europe's economic crisis, namely maintaining financial stability, ensuring sustainable public finances, fighting unemployment especially for the young, and working on long-term growth.

　　"There are no easy answers... We have to tackle its root causes," Van Rompuy said, adding that the eurozone economy was expected to grow by the end of this year.

　　The eurozone economy contracted by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter last year, or the steepest decline since the first quarter of 2009, while its unemployment rate hit a record high of 11.9 percent in January.

　　European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at the same press conference that the euro was more stable compared to one year ago and the confidence had returned, labeling Thursday's discussion among EU leaders as "the most business-like for a long time."

　　Barroso also said that the implementation of the EU's growth pact was too low and too slow, urging the European Parliament to move quicker in passing relative legislation.

　　For over three years the debt crisis had been dominating the EU agenda, until this time EU leaders focused on ways to boost growth in the face of the eurozone's rising jobless rate and economic recession, although no specific plans were announced on Thursday.

　　Earlier in February's special summit, EU leaders had agreed upon an initiative on youth employment worth 6 billion euros (7.8 billion U.S. dollars) as part of the deal on the bloc's seven-year financial framework for 2014-2020, widely considered by critics as far from enough.

　　The first day of the summit encountered a demonstration outside the EU headquarters, with thousands of protestors crying against austerity and unemployment.

　　On Friday after the summit, EU finance ministers are also scheduled for a meeting on Cyprus' bailout plan.

　　欧盟春季峰会重申经济增长战略

　　新华网布鲁塞尔3月14日电(记者崇大海　缪晓娟　张正富)欧洲理事会主席范龙佩14日在欧盟春季峰会上表示，欧盟首脑重申对欧盟总体经济战略的支持。

　　范龙佩说，这一战略包括四个要点，即重建与维护金融稳定，确保公共财政的结构性稳固，应对失业、特别是年轻人失业问题，以及改革以提高竞争力与长期发展潜力。

　　范龙佩说，促进增长与就业是最重要的目标，政府要为此制定详细计划，在增长与紧缩之间寻求平衡，明确优先要务，并做出正确的选择。他提出应努力推进结构性改革，打击逃税，在不牺牲创新及教育等关键领域的前提下削减政府开支，以及实施有针对性的促进增长与就业的措施，特别是促进年轻人就业。

　　范龙佩表示，过去几年欧盟应对危机的努力正在取得成效，这主要体现在金融稳定性的提升与市场信心的逐渐恢复。未来欧盟各国仍应坚持这一努力方向，但是这些努力要想转化为经济活力的提升和就业的增加尚需时日。

　　欧盟委员会主席巴罗佐表示，与一年前相比，欧元区形势更加稳定，信心也在逐渐增强，但美中不足的是，欧盟“增长契约”的执行力度仍然不足。他呼吁欧洲议会加快通过相关法案，以更好地促进欧洲经济的增长。

　　为期两天的欧盟春季峰会14日在布鲁塞尔召开，会议将重点讨论平衡经济增长与财政整固、结构调整等议题。