European Union leaders said on Monday they understood the frustration voiced by thousands of anti-austerity protesters and vowed to make the financial sector share the pain to resolve the debt crisis. EU president Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, however, insisted that the 17-nation eurozone must press ahead with budget cuts despite their rejection in the streets of Europe at the weekend.
"The concerns of those young people on growth and employment are totally legitimate," Van Rompuy said ahead of a crucial EU summit on Sunday aimed at delivering a comprehensive solution to the two-year-old crisis. "But our responsibility is to go through this unpopular period in order to safeguard a better future," he said at a news conference after talks with business and union leaders. After a weekend that saw tens of thousands of "indignant" protesters across Europe denounce corporate greed and budget cut, Van Rompuy and Barroso said the financial sector should make a contribution to end the crisis.
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