The next summit of European Union leaders focusing on the continent's troubled economies will be held on January 30, EU president Herman Van Rompuy announced late Tuesday in a video message.
"Our next summit is already scheduled for 30 January," Van Rompuy said. The meeting "will be focused on jobs," he added, with "zero growth expected in most of our economies" and some facing "recession."
The announcement of the date came less than two weeks after a fractious summit that saw Britain veto a bid by Van Rompuy to change the treaty binding the 27 EU states - followed by London's refusal on Monday to loan some 30 billion euros ($40 billion) to the IMF if the money was purely to aid the downgrade-threatened eurozone.
Van Rompuy said that "bringing financial stability to the eurozone remains absolutely key for our future," but said leaders had already "taken major decisions this year to overcome the sovereign debt crisis."
Stating that "almost all our member states are engaged in huge reform programmes" affecting government spending and the business environment, he said "there is a social way out of the crisis."
"The path is long, longer than we expected," he admitted.
"But let there be no doubt - there is a fundamental political will to move forward as a union respecting fully each other's situation."