Barroso says economic recovery in sight

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso declared yesterday that economic recovery was within sight after nearly four years of Europe’s debt crisis and urged governments to move faster to complete a stalled banking union.

In his last State of the Union speech before European Parliament elections next May, Barroso offered no new policy proposals but appealed to member states to redouble efforts to quell financial turmoil that has led to a drawn-out recession and soaring unemployment.

“What we can and must do, first and foremost, is deliver the banking union. It is the first and most urgent phase on the way to deepen our economic and monetary union,” he told lawmakers in Strasbourg.