Critical week for Europe -- and Britain
EU foreign ministers on Monday embark on a critical week aimed at breaking the deadlock over the bloc's budget, with pressure on Britain to come up with fresh proposals to end the standoff. After its initial proposals met with scorn last week, British officials will be in "listening mode" when the ministers meet in Brussels before drawing up a new set of offers, a British diplomat said. Britain, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, will then unveil the proposals on the eve of a summit of EU leaders on Thursday and Friday where London aims to broker a deal on the 2007-13 budget. Prime Minister Tony Blair spent the end of the week in intensive talks either face-to-face or on the telephone with other EU leaders to get a feel for their budget demands. But many other member states have left little ambiguity about their disgust with Britain's rebate on annual contributions to the collective pot -- currently 4.6 billion euros (5.4 billion dollars) a year -- even though London has offered to cut its growth in the coming years. In response to the pressure from other member states, Blair says that if EU leaders do not sign a deal this week, they will not see any better offers under next year's two presidencies.
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