'Inward-Looking' EU Kicks Off Complex Budget Talks
Rikard Jozwiak, Radio Free Europe, 22.11.2012
Quote
European Union prime ministers are descending on Brussels, primed for a fight that's set to last all weekend.
It is the 1 trillion-euro EU budget for the next seven years that needs to be settled and, as always, there are sharp contrasts between different member states. The budget will determine the outlook of the EU in coming years, and it is likely that a more inward-looking EU will emerge from the bruising fight. […]
"The overall budget is 1 percent of the overall EU economy, so now we are fighting about a small portion of that 1 percent. So in the end we are not talking about a huge amount of money," says Janis Emmanouilidis of the European Policy Center. "But it is important because it is also political bargaining which is happening. Member states' governments want to go back and tell their home audiences that we fought for our interest and in the end we were able to get a compromise which suits our purpose." […]
For the entire article see here.
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