EU leaders hold broad talks on growth

 　　BRUSSELS, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Top leaders of the European Union (EU) Thursday held broad talks on growth without making concrete decisions on the first day of the two-day spring summit in Brussels, against the backdrop of easing market pressure but rising unemployment rate.

　　"Employment, especially youth employment, was at the heart of our discussion tonight, more than ever," European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said at a press conference on Thursday night.

　　The president brought forward four strands¹ to tackle Europe's economic crisis, namely maintaining financial stability, ensuring sustainable public finances, fighting unemployment especially for the young, and working on long-term growth.

　　"There are no easy answers... We have to tackle its root causes," Van Rompuy said, adding that the eurozone economy was expected to grow by the end of this year.

　　The eurozone economy contracted by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter last year, or the steepest decline since the first quarter of 2009, while its unemployment rate hit a record high of 11.9 percent in January.

　　European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at the same press conference that the euro was more stable compared to one year ago and the confidence had returned, labeling Thursday's discussion among EU leaders as "the most business-like for a long time."

　　Barroso also said that the implementation² of the EU's growth pact³ was too low and too slow, urging the European Parliament to move quicker in passing relative legislation.

　　For over three years the debt crisis had been dominating the EU agenda, until this time EU leaders focused on ways to boost growth in the face of the eurozone's rising jobless rate and economic recession, although no specific plans were announced on Thursday.

　　Earlier in February's special summit, EU leaders had agreed upon an initiative on youth employment worth 6 billion euros (7.8 billion U.S. dollars) as part of the deal on the bloc's seven-year financial framework for 2014-2020, widely considered by critics as far from enough.

　　The first day of the summit encountered a demonstration⁴ outside the EU headquarters, with thousands of protestors crying against austerity and unemployment.

　　On Friday after the summit, EU finance ministers are also scheduled for a meeting on Cyprus' bailout plan.

1 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

3 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

4 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。