EU averts crisis as budget talks end in success

EU averts crisis as budget talks end in success
17.12.2005 - 04:39 CET | By EUobserver
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - "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 give €10.5 billion off its rebate; there is no commitment to reform either the UK rebate or the common agricultural policy (CAP) before 2013.On top of this, Poland will be the largest beneficiary of EU cohesion spending, pocketing €59.7 billion, and the Netherlands got the €1 billion it wanted off its national contribution."Britain's strong relationship with the new countries has been safeguarded", Mr Blair said, stressing that the UK rebate "remains in full" as far as CAP spending in the old member states is concerned.His old nemesis, French president Jacques Chirac, praised Mr Blair's "intelligence and courage", adding:"We have a deal, a good deal for Europe, which provides sufficient means to finance its ambitions for the European Community and for enlargement."European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso indicated the compromise was "not everything the commission wanted", but that "Europe avoided paralysis."Poland ecstatic Polish prime minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz punched his hand in the air and said "Yes! Yes! Yes!" in reaction to the agreement."It is for this kind of compromise that we came here", he said, adding "We will use it to chase the richest countries in Europe."The Polish leader revealed that after all 25 EU members had signed up to the budget deal, German chancellor Angela Merkel took €100 million of aid designated for German regions and gave it to Poland. "This is a beautiful, excellent gesture, hard to measure in zloty or euro because it is a gesture of solidarity", he indicated. He explained that the key to the agreement was a spending compromise between the UK, France and Germany.He also singled out the "good ghost" of Luxembourg prime minister Jean Claude Juncker, who helped keep relations friendly even as Poland twice threatened to walk out of the talks on Friday.Macedonia on its way into EUThe budget deal allowed EU leaders to approve official EU candidate status for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which France had threatened to veto in the event of no budget deal.EU leaders recognized Macedonia's "substantial progress" in securing minority rights and implementing its Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Brussels.But their formal conclusions made clear Skopje's new status did not automatically mean the opening of accession talks, with member states referring to the union's own "absorption capacity" as one of the benchmarks for taking further steps.Macedonia now joins Croatia and Turkey, which became EU candidates in October.Meanwhile, a tired set of 25 EU leaders climbed back into their limousines and headed home to begin the process of selling the new finance deal across Europe.

Será que Rafael Benitez tem razão?

RAFA: IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE Paul Rogers in Tokyo 16 December 2005 (image placeholder)Rafael Benitez today admitted that the Champions League draw that has paired his Liverpool side with Portugal's Benfica will be difficult but it could have been far worse. Speaking in Tokyo while out with his players for a meal, Benitez told liverpoolfc.tv: "It is not an easy draw but it is not the worst draw that it could have been either. There are only good teams left in the competition at this stage and we could have been paired with Bayern Munich, for example.   "There are some very interesting matches coming up in this round - just look at Chelsea v Barcelona, Real Madrid v Arsenal and Bayern v AC Milan.   "I'm pleased to have avoided certain teams but we will face a very tough match against Benfica. They are a very good team and they proved just what they can do by knocking Manchester United out of the competition.   "They are strong at home and they will have a good atmosphere behind them in the first leg but we know they will be coming back to Anfield for the return leg and everyone in Europe knows what our fans are like on a European night at home.   "We had some very special games in Europe at Anfield last season and I know the fans will play a huge role when we take on Benfica. They are one of the most famous sides in Europe and they've won the European Cup twice so we will treat them with the respect they deserve but we will approach the game with confidence in our own ability."  

Um mordiscar de lábios. Uma sensualidade brutal, vero substituto de poções químicas...Um olhar que derrete qualquer (?) bloco de gelo. A "namoradinha de Portugal" actual. De reinado tão efémero quanto o das suas antecessoras (Marisa Cruz; Bárbara Guimarães)?

Paulina Poriskova: a musa dos anos 80

A supermodelo dos anos oitenta. Polaca. Bela. Estonteante. "Descobria-a" em 1990 quando estava a fazer o MBA. Redescobri-la, agora, quinze anos depois, foi uma boa e nostálgica surpresa.

As fotos do grande jogo: Benfica-2-Manchester United-1

Benfica-2-Manchester United-1

Uma grande vitória. Muita gente feliz. Um belo momento de comunhão e de alegria colectiva.Trinta e sete anos depois a final dos Campeões Europeus perdida por 4-1 teve resposta!

Jantar da AMBA - Nova Imagem; um ano de mandato da Direcção 2004/2007

Alguns momentos do Jantar da AMBA na Gare Marítima

Da esquerda para a direita, sentido dos ponteiros de relógio: Paulo Marcos, Jaime Sotto Mayor e João Freixa; Paulo Marcos, Diogo Lucena, Girão Pereira e Francisco Froes; Hugo Figueiredo, Anabela Ventura, Nuno Pedro, Joana Simões, Paulo Marcos, António Amaral (parte da classe de 1990-91)

Jantar da AMBA - Nova Imagem; um ano de mandato da Direcção 2004/2007

Gare Marítima de Alcântara, dia 24 de Novembro de 2005.

Jantar promovido pela Associação dos Antigos Alunos do Mestrado em Gestão (MBA) da Faculdade de Economia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (AMBA).

O maior evento de sempre promovido pela AMBA. 360 associados presentes.

Paulo Alexandre Gonçalves Marcos abre a noite dirigindo-se aos presentes.