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EU leaders to avoid tough topics at informal summit
 BRUSSELS - European Union leaders will broach the âchallenges of globalizationâ at an informal summit this week â while strenuously avoiding awkward topics which have dragged the bloc to the brink of all-out crisis. The summit talks, amid the Tudor splendour of Hampton Court Palace outside London, are officially aimed at working out Europeâs strategic response to the threat typified by rising Asian giants like China and India.But looming over the meeting like a royal spectre will be the dual challenge of a deadlock over the blocâs future budget, and the more fundamental question of its whole future, following the rejection by France and the Netherlands of the EU constitution. âI hope we can avoid getting into detailed discussions of the future financing issue at Hampton Court,â said British Prime Minister and summit host Tony Blair, referring to talks on the 2007-2013 budget for the 25-nation bloc. Posted by: Steve White 2005-10-23 |
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