EU leaders took their first, tentative steps toward a deal on a new seven-year budget, but remained far short of an agreement Thursday night
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who left for his own hotel around the same time, said that he was hesitant to assess the chances of reaching an accord on Friday."Small miracles are possible," he said.
The basis for their negotiations is a plan put forward by Michel amounting to €1.095 trillion in spending commitments over the seven years — amounting to 1.074 percent of the bloc's gross national income . The European Commission had put forward a larger proposal, totaling €1.135 trillion, or 1.11 percent of GNI, while the so-called frugal net-payer countries are pushing to hold the line at a traditional benchmark of 1 percent of GNI.
Michel has said he is aiming to clinch a deal at this week's summit — a mightily ambitious goal considering that EU budget agreements typically require at least two, and sometimes more, dedicated gatherings of the heads of state and government.
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