国际英语新闻：EU leaders to meet to address pressing challenges

BRUSSELS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- As leaders of the European Union gather for their spring summit Thursday, the Greek debt crisis and the long-term development plan for the bloc stand out as imminent challenges that have to be addressed.

GREEK DEBT CRISIS

The Greek debt crisis, which unexpectedly stole the spotlight at the informal summit called in February by the EU's first full-time president Herman Van Rompuy, is now severely dividing the alliance's 27 member states.

Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, last Friday issued a statement proposing an instrument constituted by a system of coordinated bilateral loans by eurozone countries to help Greece and urging EU leaders to make a decision soon.

"We cannot prolong any further the current situation," Barroso said. "I urge the EU's leaders to agree on this instrument as soon as possible."

One day before Barroso's statement, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou also pushed EU leaders to offer a clear aid plan for his country, saying "I think it's an opportunity to make a decision next week at the summit."

However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel Sunday declared EU leaders should not list a discussion of aid to Greece on their agenda at the summit, reasoning that Greece does not need the aid.

To overcome the dilemma, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday called for a meeting of leaders of the 16-member eurozone before the summit.

Lack of a clear aid plan for Greece has affected the single currency of the eurozone negatively, and analysts said it's important to tackle the challenge immediately. Otherwise, the problem could threaten the stability of the eurozone and the EU as a whole.