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Choose EU growth or catastrophe: Parliament chair

28 January 2013, 20:36 CET
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(MADRID) - European Parliament President Martin Schulz called Monday for the EU to pass a pro-growth budget to save the poor from the "catastrophic" inequalities generated by the economic crisis.

"The current social inequality in Europe is catastrophic," Schulz told reporters in Spain, where a recession has driven the unemployment rate to 26 percent and thrown millions into poverty.

"The European Parliament will not approve a budget that does not include an active pro-growth policy," said Schulz, a German Social Democrat, at a gathering of the European Trade Union Federation in Madrid.

He said the economic downturn was causing levels of youth unemployment "never before reached" in the EU and the disparity in financing costs between its stronger and weaker members posed "enormous danger".

To protect those suffering in the crisis, Schulz said the European Union must produce an "ambitious budget" that combines fiscal discipline with smart investment to support economic growth.

EU leaders are due to discuss their 2014-2020 budget at a summit in Brussels on February 7-8.

The parliament has complained that the president of the Herman Van Rompuy is proposing to cut EU budgets for purposes such as education and youth programmes.

Schulz said he hoped for the backing of Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who has called on Germany's Angela Merkel to shift her strict fiscal line in favour of growth.


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