Socialist EU Leaders Meet Ahead of Key Budget Council

EU member states leaders from socialist parties met Thursday in Brussels ahead of the European Council crucial for bargaining the Union's 2014-20 budget framework.

The meeting was presided by Party of European Socialists and Bulgarian Socialist Party chair Sergey Stanishev.

Leftist EU leaders consolidated themselves around a position stressing the need for social spending, cohesion policies and innovations as means to restore justice and recover from the crisis.

"In contrast with rightist politicians, who did not even meet ahead of the key debate, the leaders from the left demonstrated their will to overcome differences in the name of a common vision for Europe," according to Stanishev.

"The EU's budget ought not to be reduced to a mere accounting operation, and must rather be an investment instrument for growth and creation of jobs," added he.

Reaching a deal on the 2014-20 EU budget framework is in peril as some member states like the UK have said they would veto if the EU 1.033 T amount stipulated by the European Commission is not reduced.

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