EU summit: 23 million jobless in EU

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders are due to meet for a summit in Brussels Monday to discuss boosting the financial defences and securing growth across the Eurozone.

However, Belgium's three main unions are joining hands as of late this evening in a 24-hour strike to protest national budgetary measures that have in part been imposed on Belgium by the EU.

No major demonstrations are planned but the union leaders will head to the summit site to deliver a symbolic ``eurobond'' pressing for a joint pooling of debt in the eurozone, a measure that has been steadfastly opposed by Germany. Overall, 23 million people are jobless across the EU, 10 percent of the active population.