A low-key EU summit finished Friday (28 June) with an agreement to fast-track money to tackle youth unemployment and boost lending to small companies, but the meeting was nearly overshadowed by side issues, including a colouring-book featuring fictional MEPs.
"It has been a very productive summit," said EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy, with governments pledging to spend €6 billion over the next two years to support getting young people into jobs or training.
They also agreed to "prioritise" any unspent money from the budget for employment issues, although critics say the sums are too small to make a difference to the EU's 26 million without work.
The European Investment Bank was given the nod to lend hundreds of billions of euros to small businesses - seen as the backbone of the economy, but currently starved of credit.
There was no progress on further steps to banking union, considered essential for ensuring the longterm stability of the eurozone. But the commission said it would come forward with plans on how to wind down failing banks - a key and controversial part of banking union - within two weeks.
(...)Euobserver
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