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Anger over EU summit failure
SPECIAL REPORT
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QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSBRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union nations are struggling to find a way forward after the failure of a two-day summit that produced neither a budget for the years ahead, nor a clear sign that the EU constitution will ever be ratified. Leaders began attributing blame the moment they emerged from their fruitless talks in the early hours of Saturday. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose country takes over the EU's six-month rotating presidency on July 1 from Luxembourg, was the main target. Summit host Jean Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's prime minister, pointedly told reporters he would make sure to miss Blair outlining his plans for the EU when he addresses the European Parliament on Thursday. "As that is the national day of Luxembourg, I will not be listening," he said. In two days of acrimonious negotiations, the 25 EU leaders haggled over their common spending plans for the 2007-2013 period. They failed to reach a deal. Nor did they present a clear blueprint to save a proposed EU constitution recently rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands. Juncker said the damage caused was profound. In weeks ahead, EU diplomats and others "will tell you that Europe is not in crisis," he said after the summit collapsed. "It is in a deep crisis." Britain was criticized for postponing its referendum on the EU constitution after French and Dutch voters rejected it. Luxembourg, Denmark and others are now also expected to postpone their votes, throwing the charter's fate into more uncertainty. The budget debacle centered on Britain's refusal to surrender an annual rebate to reimburse it for its outsized payments to the EU coffers. Blair's demand to link any discussion of the rebate to overall reform of the EU's agricultural subsidies -- of which France is the main beneficiary -- scuttled a spending deal. The budget requires the approval of all 25 EU member states, so it cannot go into force without Britain's approval. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw accused other EU leaders of wanting a European Union "trapped in the past" and said Britain had the support of at least four other EU states. He told the BBC that European leaders face a "fundamental change (that) no one in Europe can dodge." Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher won Britain's EU rebate in the 1980s, arguing that part of the money her country paid into the EU's coffers should be refunded. She argued that Britain received fewer benefits than other large countries, particularly France, which reaps more agricultural subsidies. Blair has said he is only willing to discuss changing the rebate as part of a more in-depth overhaul of EU finances, including its common agricultural policy. British officials have said it eats up too much of the EU's budget. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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