EU leaders kick off 2-day summit to tackle job crisis

Leaders of the European Union member states have met in Brussels to discuss ways to tackle youth unemployment across the bloc.

On Thursday, the 27 EU governments kicked off a two-day summit to come up with some job creation plans.

“We are here today to take concrete action on… issues that matter to millions of people. We’re here to fight youth unemployment, a most urgent concern for our societies,” said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

Among the countries attending the summit, Greece has the highest unemployment rate of 62.5 percent.

“Unemployment in countries like mine has really sky-rocketed… Solutions should have drastic measures that take place immediately. That’s the most important thing,” Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said as he arrived at the venue.

Shortly before the summit, the leaders agreed on a deal on the EU’s hotly contested trillion-euro budget.

“Today we have agreed on this budget that will make investment in Europe possible,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The compromise still needs to be approved by the EU’s 754 lawmakers to take effect.

Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2008. Insolvency now threatens heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and Spain.

The worsening debt crisis has forced EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered massive demonstrations in many European countries.

Public service workers in Portugal went on strike on Thursday to protest government austerity measures that have led to the nation’s worst economic slump since the 1970s.