Brussels, 20/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - In the view of the Socialist heads of state and government, the situation in Ukraine must not eclipse the issue of re-industrialisation and social recovery when they meet at the spring European summit on 20-21 March - a summit traditionally dedicated to the economy. “We can't talk about economic recovery when 27 million Europeans are unemployed”, warned Bulgaria's Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev. During their meeting that preceded the summit, the Socialist heads agreed on the Council giving a “strong signal” as regards a policy of intelligent re-industrialisation in Europe. They are also unanimous on a “unified and strong” response from the EU to the crisis in Ukraine.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz, who is also the Socialist candidate for the presidency of the European Commission, took part in the PES pre-summit, as did Italy's new Prime Minister Matteo Renzi for the first time. (MD)