EU summit ends with no agreement on long-term budget

A European Union summit has ended in the Belgian capital, Brussels, without any agreement on the bloc’s nearly one-trillion-euro budget for 2014-2020.

“There is no agreement,” said an unnamed official at the Brussels summit on Friday, AFP reported.

Most European member states reportedly supported an increase in the budget, but several countries, including the UK, Sweden, and the Netherlands opposed a rise in the EU spending plan.

After the end of the two-day summit, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said talks over the long-term budget will be resumed at the very beginning of next year.

Earlier in the day, the European Union (EU) leaders had also expressed doubts about reaching a deal on the long-term budget for the 27-nation bloc.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, “I think we’re advancing a bit, but I doubt that we will reach a deal.”

French President Francois Hollande also cautioned that it looked unlikely that the EU negotiators would reach a deal, saying, “It’s what everyone has in mind.”

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.