06-19-2005, 11:06 AM
<b>Battle lines drawn as EU summit breaks down</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Open warfare broke out about the future of the European Union after EU leaders drew battle lines over its budget, heaping new shame on the bloc after their failure to revive its constitution.
<b>The dispute saw Britain arrayed against virtually all of its 24 fellow members in defence of its widely-resented budget rebate, and descend into a particularly ugly cross-channel verbal skirmish with France.</b>
"We were very close to an agreement, but certain delegations simply did not have the political will to succeed," lamented EU president and Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker overnight after the summit in Brussels broke up.
<b>"People will tell you next that Europe is not in a crisis. It is in a deep crisis," </b>a visibly shaken Juncker told reporters.
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Britain and US game plan to break EU.
<b>The dispute saw Britain arrayed against virtually all of its 24 fellow members in defence of its widely-resented budget rebate, and descend into a particularly ugly cross-channel verbal skirmish with France.</b>
"We were very close to an agreement, but certain delegations simply did not have the political will to succeed," lamented EU president and Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker overnight after the summit in Brussels broke up.
<b>"People will tell you next that Europe is not in a crisis. It is in a deep crisis," </b>a visibly shaken Juncker told reporters.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Britain and US game plan to break EU.