Pressure on EU to soften drive for austerity

The long EU push for austerity could be slowing down as EU leaders meet this evening for their two-day summit which is being billed as an ‘austerity versus growth’ event.

As the troika prepares a list of options to cushion Ireland and Portugal’s return to the markets, France and Spain, in particular, will be pushing for more time to cut their budget deficits while indebted Italy wants its low budget deficit acknowledged.

But with Germany still fixated on budget cuts, especially with the election looming in September, the hints are fairly well hidden in the draft conclusions prepared for the summit.