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Blair said it was "amazingly complex" to get the 25 to agree (Photo: European Community, 2005)

EU averts crisis as budget talks end in success

"We have an agreement on the financial perspectives", UK prime minister Tony Blair announced at 03:00 in Brussels on Saturday (17 December) after two days of nervous negotiations.

The deal averts the threat of deep political rifts within the EU as well as delays over further enlargement, with Macedonia on Saturday gaining EU candidate status.

Under the compromise, EU spending in 2007-2013 will not rise above 1.045 percent (€862.4 billion) of the union's gross income; the UK will g...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

Blair said it was "amazingly complex" to get the 25 to agree (Photo: European Community, 2005)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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