Budget talks head for early ending without a deal

The budget talks at the EU summit appear far from nearing a compromise as most member states merely repeat their well-known positions.

The Luxembourg EU presidency has expressed its pessimism about the prospects of an agreement.

Before the negotiations opened early on Friday (17 June), British prime minister Tony Blair met the Luxembourg leader, Jean-Claude Juncker, to see if they could reach a preliminary agreement on the compromise package.

However, the UK is standing by i...