EU nations far apart on budget

[Gerald]

David Cameron said it was not the time for "tinkering" with the money spent,European leaders have resumed gruelling EU budget negotiations, amid signs that a deal may be out of reach.

The talks had continued late into Thursday night.

A revised proposal from summit chairman Herman Van Rompuy keeps the spending ceiling in place but reallocates funds.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters in Brussels on Friday that "it isn't a time for tinkering" with the EU's 2014-2020 budget. "We need unaffordable spending cut," he said.

Mr Cameron's office said the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was sympathetic to the argument for further cuts when she met him on Friday.

Earlier, Mrs Merkel said she doubted an EU agreement could be reached at this meeting.

On Thursday the opening of the summit was delayed for three hours because of stark differences over the budget plans.

Here we go again,:o

Note: 23 November 2012 Last updated at 11:53 GMT

[Herr-Berbunch]

I can't believe any government is wanting to plough more and more cash into this grossly-fatted calf with so many countries in austerity measures. Still, it will have negligable effect on these politicians and great effect on the normal 'man in the street'. :/\\!!

[Gerald]

A consensus on these budget negotiations will likely be difficult,:hmmm:

[Skybird]

Some days ago, van Rumpoy seriously suggested that EU citizens should be banned from changing their nationality and moving to other countries if they cannot prove to the EU authorities - prove it - that they do not do it for tax evasion purposes. That's a return to the medieval. Freedom to move? Forget it. Freedom to change national citizenship? Gone. Even if this does not get through, it is frightening and deeply worrying that high-ranking EU officials seriously reason about such dictatorial and tyrannic regime policies. It really is worrying.

Some days before that he had the brilliant idea to tell the audience that national parliaments practically already must serve EU policies anyway and thus are no longer to be seen as sovereign national parliaments, but are already EU institutions.

He also wants EU nations' citizens to pay a new EU tax directly to the EU.

That such thinking is seriously done in the EU, is very worrying. It really is. Must we really drop into another armed civil war in Europe just to get rid of these new and tyrannic rois soleil?. Well, if it goes on like this, we apparently will need to go there indeed, else we become a new socialist paradise dictatorship like we had so many in the East, with a crime gang at top living parasitically of it.

[Gerald]

Protracted negotiations or nothing at all,:timeout:

[Jimbuna]

I can't believe any government is wanting to plough more and more cash into this grossly-fatted calf with so many countries in austerity measures. Still, it will have negligable effect on these politicians and great effect on the normal 'man in the street'. :/\\!!

Any odds you want they'll fail to reach any agreement.