A special summit of the European Union leaders in Brussels to reach a deal on its next seven-year budget appeared heading for a collapse after their negotiations got bogged down on Thursday night in a dispute over plans to boost the budget.
Summit host, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy, adjourned the meeting till mid-day on Friday. This is after day-long bilateral discussions among the E.U. leaders, a series of meetings with the E.U. executive and a joint meeting failed to bridge the deep divisions between those demanding significant spending cuts and those supporting the plans to increase the budget.
The European Commission in its draft budget had proposed a 5 per cent hike to more than €1.09 trillion ($1.35 trillion) for the period from 2014 to 2020.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is among the leaders seeking a reduction in the draft budget, expressed doubts whether an agreement can be reached at the two-day summit.
She indicated that another summit may be needed, possibly at the end of this year or early next year, to clinch a final deal.
Read more: The Hindu : News / International : Europe budget talks heading for collapse
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