Barroso says EU 'withstood' financial test

STRASBOURG, France, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the European Union came through the financial meltdown, not unscathed, but intact.

"Over the last year, the economic and financial crisis has put our Union before one of its greatest challenges ever," Barroso said in a speech in Strasbourg, France, the EUobserver reported Tuesday.

"I believe we have withstood the test," he said, adding, "Those who predicted the demise of the European Union were proved wrong."

Barroso also said, "Our work is not finished."

Barroso said the European Commission's insistence that countries such as Greece and Portugal lower their debt levels was the correct move. "Unsustainable budgets make us vulnerable," he said. "Debt and deficit lead to boom and bust. And they unravel the social safety net. Money that is spent on servicing debt is money that cannot be spent on the social good."