NPR新闻:欧盟25国将签署新财政协议(3/3)

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European Union nations — except Britain and the Czech Republic — have agreed to sign a treaty to enforce budget discipline in the Eurozone. European leaders meeting in Brussels Monday also promised to stimulate growth and create jobs.

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Well, there was certainly a change in tone. You know, until now the focus has all been on austerity, really, but the summit shifted the emphasis towards creating growth. Europe's leadership's been under a lot of international pressure to do more to stimulate growth, and they seem to be taking that onboard. The Europeans are really, really worried about their rising unemployment levels, especially among young people. In Spain, nearly half those aged between 16 and 24 are without work, and the summit especially emphasized the need to create jobs.
There was an uproar in Greece this past weekend over a highly controversial German proposal to have an EU commissioner supervise the Greek budget, that is, look over Greece's shoulder. Did that idea get much support there in Brussels?
No one seemed to want to have anything to do with it. Sarkozy, who's become a very closer partner of Merkel's throughout this crisis, was openly critical. He called it unreasonable and undemocratic. So it generally looks like that idea is not going to fly.