EU lost 1.9 million jobs in 1st Q

European leaders meeting in Brussels this week are expected to support a European Commission document calling for member states to increase their efforts to combat rising unemployment, the EU Observer reported.

"There is a general effort at the EU level to limit the effects of unemployment as much as possible," said Katharina von Schnurbein, a spokeswoman for the commission's employment effort.

Von Schnurbein defended the current European Commission job plan, called the Lisbon Strategy, that calls for creating "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world."

"If we hadn't had the Lisbon Strategy we would be much worse off, as many member states made adjustments in the last five years, which will limit the negative effects of the crisis," von Schnurbein said.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.