EU budget deal far from certain: Merkel

“We can’t say yet whether the talks will succeed. I only know that the negotiations will be very difficult,” Merkel said Saturday.


Her remarks came as EU leaders are expected to meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for a second time to reach a deal over the bloc’s next seven-year budget.

The EU leaders first met at a summit last November, but failed to reach an agreement. Most member states reportedly supported an increase in the budget, but countries including Britain, Sweden, and the Netherlands opposed a rise in EU spending.

Merkel also said that she would “do everything to reach an agreement” at the coming summit.

The German Chancellor met with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Berlin last week and will meet with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday in preparation for the summit.

Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2008. Insolvency now threatens heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain.

The worsening debt crisis has forced EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries.

SAB/HGH/SL

Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/02/02/286913/eu-budget-deal-far-from-certain-merkel/

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