Brussels, 02/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - Reacting to the results of the European Council (see EUROPE 10247), European Socialists denounce the fact that “a new step” has been taken in the Conservatives' and Liberals' austerity agenda for Europe. If French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were “serious” about the sustainability of public finance and solidarity, they would create the conditions for jobs and growth and find a way to lower the market pressure with Eurobonds, said Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, who heads the Party of European Socialists (PES), in a press release. “Instead, the right-wing majority of the European Council is creating a culture of punishment and fear”, he denounces, convinced that budgetary cuts and sanctions on countries breaching the Stability and Growth Pact will never solve the crisis. The former Danish prime minister evokes the PES proposal to boost the economy and create jobs while consolidating public finance, consisting of a tax on financial transactions. On the subject of the permanent crisis management mechanism, Rasmussen calls for this instrument to handle sovereign debt management in normal times, and not only in times of crisis. (M.B./transl.jl)