EU summit

European Union leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss ways the bloc can pull itself out of stunted economic growth and high unemployment, and how it should address the worsening financial crisis in Greece.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso circulated a briefing paper ahead of the summit stressing the urgency of the tasks ahead.

"By taking bold action we can ... avoid the trap of a decade of 'sluggish' growth and high unemployment, which would reduce our standard of living, put enormous strain on our social systems and diminish Europe's role in the world," he wrote.

Such "bold action" would include increased spending on research, development, education and greenhouse-gas emission cuts, he said.

EU leaders have billed the summit as the start of a debate on the future "10-year plan," which is meant to crack down on national barriers to free trade and business, make spending more efficient and promote trade liberalization abroad.

Trouble in Greece

Sure to be on the minds of all EU leaders is a potential financial rescue of Greece, whose ballooning budget deficit and recent public sector strikes have contributed to a devalued euro and raised doubts over the EU's hopes for economic recovery.

A Greek rescue plan is not on the official summit agenda, but leaders will discuss the issue over lunch with European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.

The meeting is expected to reach a political agreement on how to help Greece, while EU finance ministers will work out the financial details at a meeting Monday.

Financial markets have been paying close attention to Greece's crisis and the potential outcome of Thursday's summit, which European Council President Herman Van Rompuy called in January.

acb/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Andreas Illmer