Europe wants to escape the nightmare of austerity.

The Italian Prime Minister is on a tour of several European countries to lobby for a regional economic stimulus package.

Speaking after talks with French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said he remains committed to the European Union's debt reduction targets. However, according to Letta, the same decisive approach to austerity must now be applied to growth policies.

Agreeing with this view, French President Francois Hollande argued that now is the time for Europe to shift its focus to economic growth and jobs, especially for young people, who make up a large portion of Europe's record unemployment due to the sovereign debt crisis of recent years.

However, in Berlin, Germany, considered the largest creditor in the European Union, Letta's call received a more cautious response. German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated: "For us in Germany, strengthening the budget and growth are not contradictory, but rather mutually beneficial. We can create greater competitiveness and more jobs at the same time. Our medium-term fiscal stability proposal is being discussed in Parliament. In it, we point out that combating the current record unemployment is a central issue for all of Europe. We want to ensure that the more we invest, the more freely companies can operate and be ready to create jobs."

Following his visits to Germany and France, Mr. Letta is now in Brussels, Belgium, to meet with European leaders and urge the implementation of a region-wide economic development policy.

Analysts believe that Letta's European tour was a lobbying effort to promote a shift towards growth-oriented policies. This was originally a proposal from France, but it was repeatedly set aside because the budgetary conditions of struggling countries could not simultaneously meet the requirement of boosting spending to stimulate the economy while tightening the purse strings to keep public debt at safe levels. The rationale for promoting growth is clear, but the remaining question is whether the struggling countries in Europe are ready to embrace this new direction.

According to VOV - DT