Europe looks for growth amid record unemployment BRUSSELS (AP) - Europe's leaders travel to Brussels on Thursday, hoping to chart the continent's way back to growth as figures show unemployment in the 17-country eurozone has spiked to its highest level since the euro was established in 1999. New figures showed that unemployment in the 17-country eurozone hit 10.7 percent in January - the highest level since the currency union launched in 1999. This crisis and some remedies puts social cohesion at stake. It can also damage the European idea itself," said EU President Herman Van Rompuy. That is why we have to tackle inequalities and poverty. But political leaders say that large-scale spending won't kick-start growth and are betting instead on reforms to modernize Europe's economy by cutting red tape, making it easier to hire and fire people, and investing in better broadband networks. Their discussions will likely take place in a more benign atmosphere after a panel convened by a securities dealers' association ruled that the restructuring of Greece's government debt is not yet a credit event, further . Greece has a wide array of policies and cuts to implement before it can receive a first batch of money from a euro130 billion ($173 billion) bailout Athens needs to avoid bankruptcy. So far, it looks like it's impressing its creditors. Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said he was optimistic that his eurozone colleagues would release the money to Greece. "From what I heard ahead of time, it looks as if Greece has made big progress," he said, referring to Athens' implementation of reforms and spending cuts. Because of that I believe we will make a big step forward today. Schaeuble's French counterpart Francois Baroin was equally optimistic over the disbursement. "Everything that was asked was generally done," he said. We are in favor of unblocking (the funds).