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欧盟应对青年失业危机

The European Union has agreed to a multi-billion dollar fund to tackle its youth unemployment crisis, which has led to warnings of a lost generation. Even as the bloc¹ struggles through the economic crisis, its expansion plans continue - with Serbia set to begin formal accession talks in the coming months.

欧盟已就斥资数十亿美元解决青年失业危机达成一致。青年失业危机引发了迷茫一代发出一系列警告。不过，欧盟努力摆脱经济危机的同时，其扩张计划仍在继续，塞尔维亚预定今后几个月内启动正式入盟谈判。

In Spain and in Greece, unemployment among under-25s is running at over 50 percent.

在西班牙和希腊，25岁以下人群的失业率高达百分之五十以上。

In Portugal, there are lines every day outside the Angolan and Brazilian consulates², as job-seekers look for better fortunes in the country's former colonies.

在葡萄牙，安哥拉和巴西领事馆外每天都有排队的人，失业者希望到西班牙前殖民地去碰碰运气。

It is a vicious downward spiral, says John Springford of the Center For European Reform policy group.

欧洲改革政策集团中心的约翰·斯普林福特说，恶性循环在每况愈下。

"When people have been out of work for a long time they tend to lose the skills that they have, they lose initiative, and also the social problems like drug and alcohol abuse can make them quite difficult to employ again," said Springford.

他说：“人们长期失业后，将会失去已经掌握的技能，失去能动性，另外，毒品，酗酒之类的社会问题还将使他们再受雇变得非常困难。”

Meeting in Brussels Friday, EU leaders agreed to spend $7.8 billion over the next two years to tackle youth unemployment. Herman Van Rompuy is president of the European Council.

欧盟领导人星期五在布鲁塞尔的会议上，同意未来两年斥资78亿美元解决青年失业问题。欧洲理事会(European Council)主席范龙佩说：

"We know that reforms take time and results won't be immediate³. So we're also concentrating on launching actions with direct impact. Fighting youth unemployment and helping⁴ SMEs [small and medium enterprises] access credit," said Van Rompuy.

“我们知道，改革需要时间，结果不会立竿见影。”

There are about 5.6 million unemployed⁵ young people in Europe - and the money simply won't be enough, says economist⁶ John Springford.

经济学家斯普林福特说，欧洲目前失业青年约有五百六十万，这笔资金简直不够。

"We're looking at about a thousand euros [$1,300] per person. And the thing that we know about youth unemployment is that when unemployment is high generally, then youth unemployment will be even higher. And so this kind of problem is best sorted out by macroeconomic policy rather than microeconomic tinkering," he said.

他说：“我们认为，每人资金应在一千欧元（1300美元）左右。我们对青年失业问题的了解是，当时也率总体很高是时，青年失业率将会更高，因此这类问题最好通过微观政策去处理，而不是宏观上修补。”

European commissioners⁷ have described this week as a good one for the EU - after a deal was clinched⁸ on a $1.25 trillion seven-year budget for the bloc, ending months of argument between member states.

欧洲委员会委员说，本星期欧盟很幸运，因为欧盟敲定了总值一点二五万亿美元的一项七年预算计划，结束了成员国间历时数月的争论。

Croatia joins the European Union on July 1, while EU leaders agreed Friday to begin accession talks with Serbia no later than January next year. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso hailed the agreement.

克罗地亚七月一日加入欧盟，与此同时，欧盟领导人星期五同意与塞尔维亚的入盟谈判不迟于明年一月前启动。欧盟委员会主席巴罗佐热烈欢呼这项协议。

"This is historic. Let's not forget what happened not so long ago in that part of Europe with one of the most violent wars we ever saw. And now we will start negotiations⁹ with Serbia," said Barroso.

他说：“这是具有历史意义的。让我们不要忘记欧洲的那个地区不久前发生的情况，那里爆发了我们前所未闻的一场最惨烈战争。”

Key to the accession process has been the Serbian government's willingness to negotiate, says James Ker-Lindsay of the London School of Economics.

伦敦经济学院的詹姆斯·科-林德赛说，塞尔维亚政府的谈判意愿一直是入盟进程的关键。

"There has been a tremendous transformation¹⁰ that's taken place over the past year since the arrival of a new government which many people thought would be a step back. It had a reputation of being nationalist. But in actual fact it's made a whole range of moves, so most importantly on relations with Kosovo, which has been a very, very tricky¹¹ subject since Kosovo declared independence in 2008," said Ker-Lindsay.

他说：“塞尔维亚新政府成立以来，那里去年出现了巨大变革，而许多人曾认为，塞尔维亚的这个新政府可能代表了一种倒退，这个政府曾享有民族主义的声誉。但是确凿的事实是，这个政府采取了一整套措施，最重要的是在同科索沃关系方面。自从科索沃2008年宣布独立以来，科索沃一直是一个非常非常棘手的问题。”

Meanwhile Latvia gained formal approval Friday to join the eurozone on January 1, 2014 - becoming the 18th country to use the currency.

与此同时，拉脱维亚星期五正式获准2014年1月1日加入欧元区，成为使用这种货币的第十八个国家。