Brussels, 28/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - European Socialists have issued a statement calling for a “Guarantee for European Youth”, which they want the European summit in Brussels on 28-29 June to adopt. The other Socialist slogan is European integration. They want a stronger Europe capable of taking on the markets.
Setting out the priorities of the Party of European Socialists (PES) to the media on Thursday 28 June a few hours before the summit of EU27 heads of state began, the chair of the PES, Bulgarian prime minister Sergei Stanishev, did not hide the fact that he hoped important decisions would be made in the form of the EU27 leaders including in their conclusions document the Socialist statement calling for a “Guarantee for European Youth” which was a statement calling for job creation and growth. Stanishev said the PES version would have more practical details. António José Seguro, head of the Portuguese Socialist party, said it would deal with the real problems facing Europeans, particularly the problem of unemployment. At the summit, the Socialist leaders are expected to unite and call for a more integrated EU that can fight off pressure from the markets. We need more Europe, but a democratically-responsible Europe, said Stanishev, pointing out that even a country with good macroeconomic fundamentals and no deficit would not be able to deal with the impact of the crisis alone, and without solidarity countries would be helpless. This idea is constantly repeated by the head of the Social Democrat group at the European Parliament, Hannes Swoboda (S&D, Austria), who said what was needed was greater integration both in terms of the economy and in terms of budget policy, along with greater moves towards political union. (MD/transl.fl)