The European Union has explained the way Britain can kick start formal negotiations to exit the union following June 23 referendum.
The EU says Britain can trigger Article 50, which sets a two-year deadline for a deal, by making a formal declaration either in a letter or a speech.
British PM David Cameron has said he will step down by October to allow his successor to conduct the talks.
However, EU foreign ministers have urged Britain to start the process soon.
Since June 23 referendum there has been intense speculation about when, and how, the UK might begin formal negotiations.
A spokesman for the European Council, which defines the EU’s political direction and priorities, reiterated on Saturday that triggering Article 50 was a formal act which must be “done by the British government to the European Council”.
“It has to be done in an unequivocal manner with the explicit intent to trigger Article 50,” he said.
Photo Getty Image
“It could either be a letter to the president of the European Council or an official statement at a meeting of the European Council duly noted in the official records of the meeting.”
On June 25, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU had “no need to be particularly nasty in any way” in the negotiations with Britain.
Angela Merkel said that deterring other countries from leaving the EU should not be a priority in the talks.
She added that she was not in favor of pushing for a speedy withdrawal.
“It shouldn’t take forever, that’s right, but I would not fight for a short timeframe,” Angela Merkel said.
She was speaking after several EU foreign ministers, including Germany’s, had urged Britain to quickly implement its exit.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “This process should get under way as soon as possible so that we are not left in limbo but rather can concentrate on the future of Europe.”
Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said the continent could not accept a political vacuum, saying “this will not be business as usual”.
The first summit of EU leaders with no British representation will be held on June 29, a day after David Cameron holds talks with members.
Global stock markets and the pound fell heavily on the news of Brexit, while credit rating agency Moody’s cut the UK’s outlook to “negative”.
Brexit steps:
UK votes Leave.
Within 2 years from referendum the UK notifies the EU invoking Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, then the remaining 27 EU states meet to discuss withdrawal.
Negotiations will begin between the UK and the EU ending with a draft deal put to the European Council. At the end of two years negotiations can be extended further but only if all 27 countries agree. The draft deal needs approval from at least 20 countries with 65% population. Then the deal should be ratified by the European Parliament.
If no agreement to extended negotiations then the EU treaties cease to apply to the UK
The UK leaves the European Union. UK parliament must repeal the 1972 European Communities Act and replace with new agreement.
If the UK wants back in, it has to apply like any other country.
UK’s PM David Cameron has announced he will step down by October after Britain voted to leave the EU.
In a statement outside Downing Street, David Cameron said he would attempt to “steady the ship” over the coming weeks and months but that “fresh leadership” was needed.
He had urged Britain to vote Remain but was defeated by 52% to 48% despite London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backing staying in.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed it as the UK’s “independence day”.
The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 as the markets reacted to the results.
Photo Getty Images
Flanked by wife Samantha, PM David Cameron said he had informed Queen Elizabeth II of his decision to remain in place for the short term and to then hand over to a new prime minister by the time of the Conservative conference in October.
It would be for the new prime minister to carry out negotiations with the EU and invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which would give the UK two years to negotiate its withdrawal, David Cameron said.
“The British people have voted to leave the European Union and their will must be respected,” he said.
“The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered.”
The Brexit referendum turnout was 71.8% – with more than 30 million people voting – the highest turnout at a UK-wide vote since 1992.
Britain is set to be the first country to leave the EU since its formation – but the Leave vote does not immediately mean Britain ceases to be a member of the 28-nation bloc.
That process could take a minimum of two years, with Leave campaigners suggesting during the referendum campaign that it should not be completed until 2020 – the date of the next scheduled general election.
Once Article 50 has been triggered a country cannot rejoin without the consent of all member states.
The UK’s government will also have to negotiate its future trading relationship with the EU and fix trade deals with non-EU countries.
The UK voted to leave the European Union with 52% to 48% despite London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backing staying in.
The Brexit referendum turnout was 71.8% – with more than 30 million people voting – the highest turnout at a UK-wide vote since 1992.
Nigel Farage – who has campaigned for the past 20 years for Britain to leave the EU – told cheering supporters “this will be a victory for ordinary people, for decent people”.
Germany’s foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier described the referendum result as “a sad day for Europe and Great Britain”.
Leave supporting Tory MP Liam Fox said voters had shown great “courage” by deciding to “change the course of history” for the UK and, he hoped, the rest of Europe.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that the EU vote “makes clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union” after all 32 local authority areas returned majorities for Remain.
Britain is set to be the first country to leave the EU since its formation – but the Leave vote does not immediately mean Britain ceases to be a member of the 28-nation bloc.
That process could take a minimum of two years, with Leave campaigners suggesting during the referendum campaign that it should not be completed until 2020 – the date of the next scheduled general election.
Once Article 50 has been triggered a country cannot rejoin without the consent of all member states.
UK’s PM David Cameron previously said he would trigger Article 50 as soon as possible after a Leave vote but Boris Johnson and Michael Gove who led the campaign to get Britain out of the EU have said he should not rush into it.
They also said they want to make immediate changes before the UK actually leaves the EU, such as curbing the power of EU judges and limiting the free movement of workers, potentially in breach the UK’s treaty obligations.
The UK’s government will also have to negotiate its future trading relationship with the EU and fix trade deals with non-EU countries.
In Whitehall and Westminster, there will now begin the massive task of unstitching the UK from more than 40 years of EU law, deciding which directives and regulations to keep, amend or ditch.
The Leave campaign argued during a bitter four-month referendum campaign that the only way Britain could “take back control” of its own affairs would be to leave the EU.
Leave dismissed warnings from economists and international bodies about the economic impact of Brexit as “scaremongering” by a self-serving elite.
Donald Trump has called on Muslims to work with the police and “turn people in”.
In an interview with the British channel ITV, the presumptive Republican nominee said he was not anti-Muslim, but “anti-terror”.
Donald Trump was reacting to remarks by UK PM David Cameron that he was “stupid, divisive and wrong” in calling for Muslims to be banned from the US.
The billionaire made the call last year, when he was not the GOP’s front-runner.
Donald Trump insisted that when he called for an immediate temporary ban on Muslims being allowed into America, there had been criticism only from politicians. Millions of people from all over the world had called in, he said, saying “Donald Trump is right”.
Asked whether he would re-phrase those comments in the light of the controversy they caused, Donald Trump said: “It got people thinking. Whether it’s good for me or bad for me, I don’t really care.”
“Something very bad” was going on that people pretended didn’t exist, Donald Trump said.
Photo Getty Images
The world had a tremendous problem with radical Islamic terror, he said.
“If you look at it world-wide, the world is blowing up. And it’s not people from Sweden that’s doing the damage, okay?”
It is up to Muslims to turn in people they suspected of extremism, he added.
“They have to work with the police. They’re not turning them in. If they’re not playing ball, it’s not going to work out.”
Referring to David Cameron’s criticism, Donald Trump also said it looked like he was not going to have a good relationship with the UK prime minister.
Donald Trump also criticized the new Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for calling him “ignorant”.
The Republican is one of the least politically experienced nominees in US history, having never held elected office.
Many senior Republicans have refused to back Donald Trump. All other Republican rivals have dropped out of the campaign.
UK’s PM David Cameron of “hypocrisy” after he revealed he had owned shares in an offshore trust set up by his late father.
On April 7, David Cameron said he sold the shares before he enter Number 10 in 2010 and had paid all UK taxes due on profits from the £30,000 ($45,000) sale.
The prim minister said the company, Blairmore Holdings, had not been set up to avoid tax.
Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson said David Cameron had called people who invested in similar schemes “morally wrong”.
There have been days of headlines about Blairmore Holdings – a fund for investors which until 2006 used “bearer shares” to protect its clients’ privacy – following the leak of 11 million documents held by Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca.
Photo Getty Images
The papers show that David Cameron’s father, Ian, was one of five UK directors who flew to board meetings in the Bahamas or Switzerland.
Downing Street and PM David Cameron had issued four statements on whether he had any financial involvement with Blairmore Holdings before the PM told ITV News on April 7 about the shares he had owned.
Tom Watson said David Cameron could not be blamed for his father’s actions but added: “He can for hypocrisy. He said that sunlight is the best disinfectant and wasn’t entirely straight with the British people about what his own financial arrangements were.
“That wouldn’t be so bad if he hadn’t also been lecturing very prominent people about their own tax arrangements, some he called morally wrong for being invested in similar schemes.
“People don’t like that and they want a lot more answers from David Cameron before this scandal goes away.”
Shadow Treasury minister Richard Burgon called on David Cameron to make a statement on his tax affairs to Parliament on April 11.
“He must now further clarify whether or not he or his family were benefiting directly or indirectly in 2013 when he was lobbying to prevent EU measures to better regulate trusts as a way to clamp down on tax avoidance,” he said.
In his interview on April 7, David Cameron told ITV News: “I don’t have anything to hide. I’m proud of my dad and what he did and the business he established… I can’t bear to see his name being dragged through the mud.”
David Cameron said much criticism was based on a “fundamental misconception” that Blairmore Investment was set up to avoid tax.
“It wasn’t. It was set up after exchange controls went, so that people who wanted to invest in dollar denominated shares and companies could do so, and there are many other, thousands of other unit trusts set up in this way,” he said.
Downing Street said the Cameron family bought their holding in April 1997 for £12,497 and sold it in January 2010 for £31,500.
In 2010, the personal allowance before capital gains tax was paid was £10,100 per person.
David Cameron’s conservatives have won the UK’s general elections and are expected to form a slender majority in the Commons.
His party made gains in England and Wales.
Ed Miliband is expected to stand down later after Labour Party was all but wiped out by the SNP in Scotland.
The Liberal Democrats are also heading for a fewer seats.
The Conservatives are expected to have won a 37% share of the national vote, Labour 31%, UKIP 13%, the Lib Dems 8%, the SNP 5%, the Green Party 4% and Plaid Cymru 1%.
PM David Cameron declared victory in a speech after being returned as MP for Witney, in which he set out his intention to press ahead with an in/out referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union and to complete the Conservatives’ economic plan.
“I want to bring our country together, our United Kingdom together, not least by implementing as fast as we can the devolution that we rightly promised and came together with other parties to agree both for Wales and for Scotland.
“In short, I want my party, and I hope a government I would like to lead, to reclaim a mantle that we should never have lost – the mantle of One Nation, One United Kingdom. That is how I will govern if I am fortunate enough to form a government in the coming days,” he said.
David Cameron is expected to hold an audience with Queen Elizabeth II later on Friday.
British people are expected to head to polling stations to cast their votes in the UK general election.
The voters will elect the 56th Parliament of the United Kingdom after the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 led to the mandated dissolution of the 55th Parliament on March 30, 2015.
There are also local elections scheduled to take place on the same day across most of England, with the exception of Greater London.
Polls open at 07:00 BST on Thursday, May 7, at around 50,000 polling stations across the UK.
A total of 650 Westminster Members of Parliament (MPs) will be elected for the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament, with about 50 million people registered to vote.
As well as the general election, there are more than 9,000 council seats being contested across 279 English local authorities.
Mayors will also be elected in Bedford, Copeland, Leicester, Mansfield, Middlesbrough and Torbay.
This means that nearly every voter in England – excluding London where there are no local elections – will be given at least two ballot papers when they enter polling stations.
Some votes have already been cast, through postal voting, which accounted for 15% of the total electorate at the 2010 general election, when the overall turnout was 65%.
For the first time, people have been able to register to vote online.
Most polling stations are in schools, community centres and parish halls, but pubs, a launderette and a school bus will also be used.
A handful of seats are expected to be declared by midnight, with the final results expected on Friday afternoon, May 8.
Polls close at 22:00 BST, but officials say anyone in a polling station queue at this time should be able to cast their vote.
Seven parties (Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, UKIP, SNP, PC and Green) participated in the election leadership debates.
The Conservative Party and Labour Party have been the two biggest parties since 1922, and have supplied all UK prime ministers since that date. Polls predict that these parties will receive between 65-75% of the votes and win 80-85% of seats between them and that as such the leader of one of these parities will be the prime minister after the election.
The Economist described a “familiar two-and-a-half-party system” (Conservatives, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats) that “appears to be breaking down” with the rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the Greens and the Scottish National Party (SNP).
Analysts say that there will be no overall majority, but that PM David Cameron’s Conservatives will be the largest party with more than 280 seats.
A Mahatma Gandhi’s statue has been unveiled in London’s Parliament Square.
The unveiling of the 9ft bronze statue marks 100 years since Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa to begin his struggle for independence.
The Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust raised more than £1 million ($1.5 million) for the work which was described as a “magnificent tribute”.
The statue was unveiled by Indian finance minister, Shri Arun Jaitley, in a ceremony which also involved Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
British sculptor, Philip Jackson, was commissioned to create the work with his previous pieces including statues of the Queen Mother and Bomber Command.
Philip Jackson said he was inspired by photographs of the civil rights leader outside 10 Downing Street on a visit in 1931.
British PM David Cameron said: “This statue is a magnificent tribute to one of the most towering figures in the history of world politics and by putting Mahatma Gandhi in this famous square we are giving him an eternal home in our country.”
Mahatma Gandhi was known for his use of non-violent protest and undertook various hunger strikes to protest against the oppression of India’s poorest classes.
PM David Cameron has defended the British security services amid criticisms they failed to stop Mohammed Emwazi, known as “Jihadi John”, from joining ISIS in Syria.
The prime minister said MI5 made “incredibly difficult judgments” on the UK’s behalf.
His comments came after it emerged Mohammed Emwazi was known to authorities.
David Cameron said he would not comment on specific cases but urged the public to back the security services.
Mohammed Emwazi, who is in his mid-20s, first appeared in a video last August, when he apparently killed American journalist James Foley.
He was later thought to have been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of British aid worker David Haines, American journalist Steven Sotloff, British taxi driver Alan Henning, and American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter Kassig.
UK-based advocacy group Cage has suggested that MI5 may have contributed to the radicalization of Mohammed Emwazi.
Downing Street said the claim was “completely reprehensible”, while London Mayor Boris Johnson described Cage’s comments as “an apology for terror”.
David Cameron defended the security services, praising the work of “these extraordinary men and women”.
He said: “I meet with them regularly, I ask them searching questions about what they do and in my almost five years’ experience as prime minister, I think they are incredibly impressive, hard-working, dedicated, courageous and effective at protecting our country.
“All of the time, they are having to make incredibly difficult judgements and I think basically they make very good judgements on our behalf, and I think whilst we are in the middle of this vast effort to make sure British citizens are safe, the most important thing is to get behind them.”
David Cameron went on to say the security services’ “dedication and work has saved us from plots on the streets of the UK that could have done us immense damage” within the last few months.
He said he was satisfied there was effective scrutiny of the work they do.
Mihammed Emwazi has appeared in videos dressed in a black robe with a black balaclava covering all but his eyes and top of his nose.
Speaking with a British accent, Jihadi John taunted Western powers before holding his knife to the hostages’ necks, appearing to start cutting before the film stopped.
Hostages released by ISIS said Jihadi John was one of three British jihadists guarding Westerners abducted by the group in Syria.
PM David Cameron said that the UK will take “whatever steps are necessary” to keep safe after a video showing the killing of hostage David Haines was issued by Islamic State (ISIS) militants.
David Cameron the UK would “hunt down” the killers of the aid worker, whom he called a “British hero”.
He said the “menace” of ISIS had to be destroyed in a “calm, deliberate” way.
In the video released by ISIS militants, they also threatened to kill a second Briton, who has been named as Alan Henning, 47.
Alan Henning, a married father-of-two from Salford, worked as a taxi driver and was a volunteer on an aid convoy.
Speaking at Downing Street after a meeting of the UK emergency committee Cobra, David Cameron said of ISIS, also known as ISIL, “they are not Muslims, they are monsters”.
“We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes.”
In the video, a masked man who appears to have a British accent was pictured beside David Haines holding a knife.
Masked ISIS militant pictured beside David Haines
David Cameron said the country was “sickened” that a Briton could have carried out the “despicable” killing.
“We cannot just walk on by if we are to keep this country safe,” he said.
“Step by step, we must drive back, dismantle and ultimately destroy ISIL and what it stands for.
“We will not do so on our own, but with working with our allies, not just in the United States and in Europe, but also in the region.”
He said the organization posed a “massive threat” to the entire Middle East and said it would be defeated through a “comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy”.
The prime minister added: “This is not about British combat troops on the ground. It is about working with others to extinguish this terrorist threat.”
US officials later said several Arab countries had offered to take part in air strikes against ISIS militants in Iraq – subject to approval from the Iraqi government.
Secretary of State John Kerry – speaking in Paris after a whirlwind tour of the Middle East trying to drum up support for action against ISIS – said he was “extremely encouraged” by such promises.
EU Summit in Brussels is expected to confirm former Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker as the next president of the European Commission.
The move comes despite strong opposition from the UK.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron believes Jean-Claude Juncker is too much in favor of closer political union and might block EU reform.
He also objects to the way Jean-Claude Juncker, a 59-year-old veteran of Brussels deal-making, was put forward.
EU Summit in Brussels is expected to confirm former Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker as the next president of the European Commission
Jean-Claude Juncker was lead candidate of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), which won last month’s European elections.
The UK Conservatives – who pulled out of the EPP – suspect that the Commission is being politicized in a power grab by the European Parliament.
However, Jean-Claude Juncker’s supporters value his record of consensus-building and commitment to EU integration.
Under new EU treaty rules the leaders have to take account of the European election result when nominating a Commission chief. The parliament will vote on the nominee next month.
David Cameron is seeking an unprecedented vote on the appointment, which is usually made by consensus.
But his bid to block Jean-Claude Juncker suffered a major setback this week when his allies changed tack.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had given David Cameron hope after agreeing to a vote on the issue if there was no consensus.
But both the Netherlands and Sweden – normally close to UK positions in Europe – have since said they will back Jean-Claude Juncker.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has restated her support for Jean-Claude Juncker to take over as president of the European Commission, at a mini-summit in Sweden.
Angela Merkel said that while she was “happy” to say she wanted Jean-Claude Juncker for the top job, it was not “the main topic” of the two-day talks.
British PM David Cameron, who wants a less federalist candidate, said reform of EC policies had been the priority.
The Swedish and Dutch prime ministers also took part in the talks.
The European Council – representing the EU’s 28 heads of state – is due to announce its Commission candidate later this month.
The leaders have traditionally named the Commission head on their own. However, new rules mean they now have to “take into account” the results of the European Parliament elections, which were won in May by Jean-Claude Juncker’s centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) bloc.
Britain is leading a campaign to block his candidacy. Sweden’s Fredrik Reinfeldt and Dutch PM Mark Rutte are thought to back David Cameron’s position but did not address the issue with reporters on Tuesday.
Angela Merkel and David Cameron met Sweden’s Fredrik Reinfeldt and Dutch PM Mark Rutte at Harpsund mini-summit (photo Twitter)
“We have agreed that the future policy priorities of the EU must be decided before we can decide on appointments of different top jobs,” Fredrik Reinfeldt said.
Correspondents say the scene has been set for a lengthy power struggle between EU leaders and the European Parliament, with the UK worried about the prospect of a “stitch-up”.
The four centre-right politicians met in Harpsund, near Stockholm, to try to reach a consensus on European reform.
Job creation, economic growth and structural reforms to boost EU competitiveness were also discussed at the meeting, which finished on Tuesday morning.
Angela Merkel said the focus had been on “policy, which is what is really important for Europe and its citizens”.
“I have said it in Germany and so I will again here: Jean-Claude Juncker is my candidate for the position of Commission president and I want to have him as Commission president,” Angela Merkel told journalists at the end of the meeting.
“But that hasn’t been the main point. We didn’t talk about hypothetical situations and we don’t have to answer questions about them.”
David Cameron, who strongly opposes Jean-Claude Juncker’s belief in a closer political union between EU member states, said the right leaders were needed to reform Europe.
“If the European Union doesn’t go in that direction, that would be unhelpful,” he said.
David Cameron has promised British voters a referendum on EU citizenship in 2017, if he gets re-elected next year.
“Obviously the approach that the European Union takes between now and then will be very important,” he added.
The Commission president is the most powerful job in Brussels, shaping EU policy in key areas such as economic reform, immigration and ties with other global powers.
The EPP – the largest centre-right grouping in the parliament – won the most seats in May’s polls, and Jean-Claude Juncker has argued that gives him the mandate.
The decision will be made by the European Council by qualified majority vote. That means no single country can veto the choice.
The result is due to be announced at an EU summit on June 26-27, although an agreement by then is by no means guaranteed.
The British Parliament vote against military strikes in Syria is a tough blow to PM David Cameron’s domestic political fortunes.
Since taking office in 2010, David Cameron has on numerous occasions been undercut not just from opposition parties, but also from rebel elements within both his own Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the junior member of the U.K.’s governing coalition.
The government lost a vote – by a tally of 285 to 272 – that would have supported in principle military intervention in Syria, where Western governments have said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime carried out a deadly chemical-weapons attack on civilians last week. Members of all major parties – including David Cameron’s Tories – opposed the measure.
The British Parliament vote against military strikes in Syria is a tough blow to PM David Cameron’s domestic political fortunes
David Cameron said it is clear that the British Parliament, reflecting the view of the British people, doesn’t want to see the U.K. get involved in military action and “the government will act accordingly”.
The outcome marks a significant moment in British politics – it is highly unusual for a prime minister to be defeated on foreign policy and raises questions about what the U.K.’s role will be the world stage going forward.
It is also a rare setback for U.S.-U.K. relations that will spur questions about the so-called “special relationship” between the two nations. In recent decades, the U.K. has rarely if ever parted ways with the U.S. on such a significant strategic issue.
While the government doesn’t require parliamentary approval to take military action, it would now be politically difficult to do so. A further parliamentary vote had been due to take place early next week on whether the U.K. should be directly involved in that action. A spokesman for the prime minister confirmed that the U.K. now won’t take part in the Syrian action.
The outcome of the U.K. vote could make it more difficult for President Barack Obama and other Western allies – already weary from years of difficult military intervention in the Middle East – to convince their own publics of the need for intervention in Syria.
Leaders at the G8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, are close to signing a joint statement on Syria, despite their differences.
Russia and the US are backing opposite sides in the conflict, but officials say the statement could soon be agreed.
This could include the proposed peace conference in Geneva, and more access for deliveries of humanitarian aid.
The summit, which is now in its final day, is also discussing tax evasion and efforts to boost trade.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow would sign up to the statement on Syria later on Tuesday.
But he stressed the Kremlin wanted each of the Syrian sides in the talks to select not only their own delegations but the future terms of any transitional government.
Sergei Ryabkov sidestepped the question of whether this could leave open a role for President Bashar al-Assad in the future.
Leaders at the G8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, are close to signing a joint statement on Syria, despite their differences
To try to get as much consensus as possible on Syria, UK Prime Minister David Cameron – who is hosting the summit – held a working dinner on Monday night.
The leaders were alone, with no officials present, allowing them to express their views frankly.
After the meeting, British officials appeared more optimistic that an agreement could be reached on the joint statement on Syria.
However, they said it would take more work to agree the precise language.
Earlier on Monday, the British had raised the possibility of the other G8 nations issuing an end-of-conference statement without the participation of Russia.
But it now seems that Vladimir Putin is willing to consider some kind of joint stance, according to officials.
The communiqué is likely to back the launch of Syrian peace negotiations in Geneva, and insist that humanitarian aid agencies like the Red Cross are given access to all parts of the country.
Any statement which emerges may not be all that ambitious, correspondents warn – and even then, it is far from certain that any agreement will change the appalling reality in Syria itself.
The White House announced last week that it would provide military aid to the Syrian rebels. Russia meanwhile supplies weapons to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin met for an hour of bilateral talks on Monday, and at a sombre press conference afterwards it was clear they had had a difficult exchange.
Both presidents acknowledged their differences but said they shared a common desire to stop the bloodshed.
Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin have acknowledged at the G8 meeting in Northern Ireland that they have a different stance on Syria, but agreed to push for a summit in Geneva.
After face-to-face talks, Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin said they shared a common desire to end the violence.
Both also said they were optimistic on Iran, after its presidential election.
Earlier, the G8 nations discussed the global economy, with the leaders agreeing world prospects remained weak.
The G8 leaders are now heading to a working dinner, where Syria is likely to be top of the agenda.
Other nations joining the UK, US and Russia for the 39th Summit of the Group of Eight (G8) in Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, are Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama met for about two hours on the sidelines of the summit.
Correspondents say that both leaders looked tense as they addressed journalists afterwards, with the Russian president regularly looking at the floor.
Vladimir Putin said: “Our positions do not fully coincide, but we are united by the common intention to end the violence, to stop the number of victims increasing in Syria, to resolve the problems by peaceful means, including the Geneva talks.”
Barack Obama said the two leaders had instructed their teams to press ahead with trying to organize the peace conference in Switzerland.
Neither the rebels nor the Syrian government have yet fully committed to the proposed Geneva talks, which would seek to end more than two years of unrest that has left an estimated 93,000 people dead.
Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin did say that they had agreed to meet in Moscow in September.
Earlier UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who is hosting the summit, had said he hoped to find “common ground” on Syria.
The US said last week it was prepared to arm opposition forces, saying it had evidence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons on a “small scale”.
David Cameron, who backed the recent lifting of EU arms sanctions against the rebels, said on Monday that no decision had yet been made on whether the UK would do the same.
In an interview in Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday, President Bashar al-Assad denied that his military had used chemical weapons, and warned that arming the rebels would result in “the direct export of terrorism to Europe”.
“Terrorists will return to fight, equipped with extremist ideology,” he said.
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland
On Monday, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said of the possibility of a no-fly zone over Syria: “I think we fundamentally would not allow this scenario.”
The formal talks on Monday covered the global economy.
In their statement after the session, the leaders said prospects remained weak but added that action in the US, Japan and eurozone had helped ease the situation.
“Downside risks in the euro area have abated over the past year, but it remains in recession.
“The US recovery is continuing and the deficit is declining rapidly in the context of a continuing need for further progress towards balanced medium-term fiscal sustainability.”
Ahead of the first session, the US and EU members of the G8 announced that negotiations were to begin on a wide-ranging free-trade deal.
David Cameron, Barack Obama and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso held a press conference on the proposed EU-US deal.
The British prime minister said a successful agreement would have a greater impact than all other world trade deals put together.
“This is a once-in-a-generation prize and we are determined to seize it,” said David Cameron.
He said the deal “could add as much as £100 billion [$157 billion; 117 billion euros] to the EU economy, £80 billion to the US economy and as much as £85 billion to the rest of the world”.
Barack Obama said the deal was a priority for the US and he hoped that it would create an economic alliance as strong as the diplomatic and security alliances the two sides enjoyed.
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has accused the UK government of bullying and naivety in its approach to the conflict in his country.
In an interview with the UK’s Sunday Times newspaper, Bashar al-Assad said Britain was determined to militarize the situation.
Bashar al-Assad repeated his conditional offer of talks with the opposition and dismissed suggestions that he might step down.
The UK says it supports the Syrian opposition but does not provide rebels with arms.
However, at a recent Friends of Syria meeting in Rome, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said military aid was possible in the future.
Bashar al-Assad, in a rare interview with a Western newspaper, accused UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s “naive, confused, unrealistic” government of trying to end an EU arms embargo so that the rebels could be supplied with weapons.
“We do not expect an arsonist to be a firefighter,” he said.
“To be frank, Britain has played a famously unconstructive role in our region on different issues for decades, some say for centuries.
“The problem with this government is that their shallow and immature rhetoric only highlights this tradition of bullying and hegemony.”
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has accused the UK government of bullying and naivety in its approach to the conflict in his country
He added: “How can we expect to ask Britain to play a role when it is determined to militarise the problem?
“How can you ask them to play a role in making the situation better, more stable? How can we expect them to make the violence less while they want to send military supply to the terrorists and don’t try to ease the dialogue between the Syrian(s).”
About 70,000 people have been killed in the Syrian uprising that started almost two years ago. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, fighting is continuing between Syrian government forces and rebels across the country.
Opposition activists reported fierce clashes around the northern provincial capital of Raqqa and said dozens of people had been killed.
Government forces shelled several areas of the city and there were running battles on the outskirts of the city, activists said.
Fighting was also reported at a police academy near the northern city of Aleppo; in the rebel enclave of Daraya and around the capital Damascus.
The violence comes amid the first overseas trip by new US Secretary of State John Kerry.
In the Turkish capital Ankara on Friday, he said the US and Turkey believed “the first priority is to try and have a political solution. We would like to save lives, not see them caught up in a continuing war”.
The main Syrian opposition alliance, the National Coalition, has dismissed offers of talks with the government while President Bashar al-Assad remains in power.
EU leaders have reached agreement on the 7-year budget for 2014-2020 after marathon talks in Brussels.
The deal was announced by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who said it was “worth waiting for”.
The new budget amounts to 908 billion euros ($1.2 trillion) in forecast payments. It is the first-ever reduction in the EU’s multi-annual budget.
UK PM David Cameron – who had been pressing for cuts – hailed it as a “good deal for Britain”.
“I think the British public can be proud that we have cut the seven-year credit card limit for the EU for the first time ever,” David Cameron said.
French President Francois Hollande – who had argued against big spending cuts – said it was a “good compromise”.
The agreement came after almost 24 hours of negotiations, as countries such as France and Italy sought to protect spending.
EU leaders have reached agreement on the 7-year budget for 2014-2020 after marathon talks in Brussels
The budget amounts to about 1% of the EU’s overall GDP – it is dwarfed by the combined national budgets.
It must still be approved by the European Parliament, and MEPs had previously said they were prepared to block anything that amounted to an “austerity” budget.
Herman Van Rompuy said the deal amounted to a cut of roughly 34 billion euro in both commitments and payments.
He said EU leaders had met their responsibilities by overcoming sharp differences, and he hoped the European Parliament would meet its responsibilities by passing the budget.
British PM David Cameron says he will not accept an European Union budget deal unless further cuts are made in negotiations in Brussels.
EU leaders are gathering for a two-day summit to try to strike a seven-year spending deal, after a previous meeting in November failed.
But David Cameron said the figures being proposed “need to come down. And if they don’t… there won’t be a deal”.
The European Commission head called for “a spirit of responsibility” in talks.
Jose Manuel Barroso said: “Further delays will send out a very negative message at this time of fragile economic recovery. The risk is that positions will harden and will be even more difficult to overcome.”
The formal meeting has been delayed by several hours, apparently to allow more time for discussions on a compromise.
David Cameron has met his counterparts from Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden – leaders who are potential allies in the tough negotiations.
High EU expenditure at a time of cutbacks and austerity across the continent is the main issue dividing the 27 member states.
The Commission – the EU’s executive body – had originally wanted a budget ceiling of 1.025 trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) for 2014-2020, a 5% increase. In November that ceiling was trimmed back to 973 billion euros, equivalent to 943 billion euros in actual payments.
But with other EU spending commitments included, that would still give an overall budget of 1.011tn euros.
British PM David Cameron says he will not accept an European Union budget deal unless further cuts are made in negotiations in Brussels
The UK, Germany and other northern European nations want to lower EU spending to mirror the cuts being made by national governments across the Continent.
An EU source says any extra cut would probably be made to growth-related spending in areas such as energy, transport, the digital economy and research.
The biggest spending areas – agriculture and regional development – are largely ring-fenced because of strong national interests, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Whatever is agreed has still to go to the European Parliament, and MEPs are big backers of EU spending.
Scheduled to begin at noon on Thursday, the summit has been put back to 19:30. “We needed more time to work on the compromise proposal,” an unnamed EU official told AFP news agency.
A grouping led by France and Italy wants to maintain spending but target it more at investment likely to create jobs.
The split in the EU reflects the gap between richer European countries and those that rely most on EU funding.
The argument for higher spending is supported by many countries that are net beneficiaries, including Poland, Hungary and Spain.
Others, mostly the big net contributors, argue it is unacceptable at a time of austerity.
Germany, the UK, France and Italy are the biggest net contributors to the budget, which amounts to about 1% of the EU’s overall GDP.
Analysts say failure to reach an agreement on its seven-year budget would mean the EU falling back on more expensive annual budgets.
UK’s PM David Cameron has said the British people must “have their say” on Europe as he pledged an in/out referendum if the Conservatives win the election.
David Cameron said he wanted to renegotiate the UK’s relationship with the EU, before asking people to vote.
The British people would face a “very simple choice” either to accept the result of the talks, or to leave the EU altogether, he said.
Labour’s Ed Miliband said PM was “weak” and being driven by “party interest”.
In a long-awaited speech, David Cameron pledged to hold a referendum during the early part of the next parliament – by the end of 2017 at the latest – if the Conservatives win the next general election.
He said it would be a decision on the UK’s “destiny” and, if he secured a new relationship he was happy with, he would campaign “heart and soul” to stay within the EU.
“It is time for the British people to have their say,” the prime minister said.
“It is time to settle this European question in British politics. I say to the British people: this will be your decision.”
The Conservative leader has been under pressure from many of his MPs to give a binding commitment to a vote on Europe.
PM David Cameron has said the British people must have their say on Europe as he pledged an in-out referendum if the Conservatives win the election
David Cameron said “disillusionment” with the EU was “at an all time high” and “simply asking the British people to carry on accepting a European settlement over which they have had little choice” was likely to accelerate calls for the UK to leave.
“That is why I am in favor of a referendum,” he said.
“I believe in confronting this issue – shaping it, leading the debate. Not simply hoping a difficult situation will go away.”
Setting out the conditions for a future poll, David Cameron said: “The next Conservative manifesto in 2015 will ask for a mandate from the British people for a Conservative government to negotiate a new settlement with our European partners in the next parliament.
“And when we have negotiated that new settlement, we will give the British people a referendum with a very simple in-or-out choice to stay in the EU on these new terms; or come out altogether. It will be an in/out referendum.”
David Cameron said holding an in/out referendum now would be a “false choice” because Europe was set to change following the eurozone crisis and it would be “wrong to ask people whether to stay or go before we have had a chance to put the relationship right”.
The prime minister said he “understood the appeal” of Britain going it alone and said he was sure the UK would survive outside the EU. But, he said, the UK must think “very carefully” about the implications of withdrawal for its prosperity and role on the international stage.
“If we left the European Union, it would be a one-way ticket, not a return,” he added.
David Cameron rejected suggestions that a new relationship was “impossible to achieve”, adding that he would prefer all other EU countries to agree a new treaty but would be prepared to seek negotiations on a unilateral basis.
Several Conservative MPs – who want a looser relationship with the EU focused around trade and who were briefed about the speech – have said they are “satisfied” with the thrust of its contents.
But some europhile Conservatives, including Lord Heseltine, have warned that committing to a referendum at some point in the future on the outcome of an uncertain negotiating process was an “unnecessary gamble”.
The Lib Dems say pursuing a wholesale renegotiation of the UK’s membership will cause uncertainty and deter foreign investment while Labour claim David Cameron’s approach is being driven by party calculations rather than the national interest.
Labour said the referendum pledge defined David Cameron “as a weak prime minister, being driven by his party, not by the national economic interest”.
“We understand the need for change but I don’t honestly believe the best way to get change in a club of 27 is to stand at the exit door demanding change or threatening to leave,” shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said.
The speech had been scheduled for last Friday in the Netherlands, but was postponed because of the Algerian hostage crisis.
UK’s newspaper The Sun has taken out an advert in an English-language paper in Argentina defending Britain’s right to govern the Falkland Islands.
The advert is a response to an open letter from Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, which was printed in two British papers.
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted the islanders must decide their own future.
Argentina invaded the islands in 1982 but was driven out by British forces.
A referendum on the islands’ political status is to be held in March.
On Thursday, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner published an open letter to David Cameron, in the Guardian newspaper and theIndependent, repeating calls for the islands – which are known as the Malvinas in Argentina – to come under the sovereignty of her nation.
The Sun has taken out an advert in an English-language paper in Argentina defending Britain’s right to govern the Falkland Islands
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner urged David Cameron to abide by a 1965 UN resolution to “negotiate a solution” to the dispute.
But The Sun responded by taking out an advert in the Buenos Aires Herald – an English-language paper with a circulation of around 20,000 – telling Argentina to keep its “hands off”.
The advert refers to the 649 Argentines and 255 British servicemen whose lives were lost in the 1982 war and said it was a conflict fought to defend the principle of self-determination.
The ad goes on to dispute Argentina’s claim to the islands and points out British sovereignty dates back to 1765.
It ends with the words: “Until the people of the Falkland Islands choose to become Argentinean, they remain resolutely British.”
But the journalist Daniel Schweimler, who lives in Argentina, said The Sun’s message would not go down well.
Daniel Schweimler, who is based in Buenos Aires, said: “I’ve been here seven years now, and have never come across an Argentine who doesn’t believe that the Falklands belong to Argentina.”
“There’s never been any animosity towards me when I say I’m British, but I think it’s fair to say that almost across the board in a country of 40 million people that Las Malvinas, the Falklands, belong to them,” he added.
Argentine journalist Celina Andreassi agreed and says The Sun’s advert was quite provocative.
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has called on the UK government to hand over the Falkland Islands, in an open letter printed in British newspapers.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner urges British Prime Minister David Cameron to abide by a 1965 UN resolution to “negotiate a solution” over the islands.
The letter says they were forcibly stripped from Argentina in “a blatant exercise of 19th Century colonialism”.
The government said the Falklands’ population had chosen to be British.
The Foreign Office said there could be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falklands “unless and until such time as the islanders so wish”.
A referendum on the islands’ political status is to be held in March.
The letter, published as an advert in the Guardian newspaper and the Independent, follows repeated calls by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner for the islands – which are known as the Malvinas in Argentina – to come under the sovereignty of her nation.
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has called on the UK government to hand over the Falkland Islands, in an open letter printed in British newspapers
Last year marked 30 years since the Falklands War, when the islands were occupied by Argentine forces for 74 days.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner says her letter is published on the same date – January 3 – when, 180 years ago: “Argentina was forcibly stripped of the Malvinas Islands, which are situated 14,000 km [8,700 miles] away from London.”
She goes on: “The Argentines on the Islands were expelled by the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom subsequently began a population implantation process similar to that applied to other territories under colonial rule.
“Since then, Britain, the colonial power, has refused to return the territories to the Argentine Republic, thus preventing it from restoring its territorial integrity.”
In her final paragraph, she ends: “In the name of the Argentine people, I reiterate our invitation for us to abide by the resolutions of the United Nations.”
Argentina says it inherited ownership of the islands from Spain, arguing that British colonists occupied the islands by force in 1833 and expelled settlers, violating Argentina’s territorial integrity.
It also bases its claim on the islands’ proximity to the South American mainland. The islands’ capital, Port Stanley, lies about 1,180 miles (1,898km) from the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said that the Falkland Islanders “are British and have chosen to be so”.
“They remain free to choose their own futures, both politically and economically, and have a right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter,” she added.
“This is a fundamental human right for all peoples.
“There are three parties to this debate, not just two as Argentina likes to pretend.
“The islanders can’t just be written out of history.”
In June, UK Prime Minister David Cameron confronted President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner about the issue when they came face-to-face at the G20 summit.
During the exchange, the prime minister rejected her demand for negotiations over the sovereignty of the islands and told her that she should respect the result of a referendum.
The Argentine president had earlier raised her demands at the United Nations, appearing at the annual meeting of the UN decolonization committee on the 30th anniversary of the end of Argentine occupation.
She used the occasion to reiterate Argentina’s opposition to any more wars and to criticize the prime minister’s decision to mark the day by flying the Falklands flag over 10 Downing Street.
In December, Argentina protested at Britain’s decision to name part of Antarctica, Queen Elizabeth Land. A formal protest note was given to the British ambassador, John Freeman, in Buenos Aires.
The area, which makes up around a third of the British Antarctic Territory, is also claimed by the South American country.
EU budget summit held in Brussels has ended without agreement on the 27-strong union’s next seven-year budget.
Another meeting will have to be called to sort out the difficulties but it is unclear how differences will be resolved.
European Council chief Herman Van Rompuy said he was confident a deal would be reached early next year.
Hours of talks failed to bridge big gaps between richer countries and those which rely most on EU funding.
The UK said current EU spending levels must be frozen.
The EU’s divisions are very clear and have become even more stark at a time of economic crisis.
Herman Van Rompuy had reshuffled the allocations in his original proposed budget during the summit, but he kept in place a spending ceiling of 973 billion euros ($1.2 trillion).
With the eurozone’s dominant states, Germany and France, unable to agree on the budget, UK Prime Minister David Cameron had warned against “unaffordable spending”.
The failure to decide on a budget came just days after the finance ministers of the 17 eurozone states failed to agree on conditions for releasing a new tranche of bailout money to Greece, raising questions about the union’s decision-making process.
Herman Van Rompuy’s budget had been unacceptable to a number of other countries, not just Britain, David Cameron told reporters.
“Together, we had a very clear message: <<We are not going to be tough on budgets at home just to come here and sign up to big increases in European spending>>,” he said.
“We haven’t got the deal we wanted but we’ve stopped what would have been an unacceptable deal,” he added.
“And in European terms I think that goes down as progress.”
EU budget summit held in Brussels has ended without agreement on the 27-strong union’s next seven-year budget
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was sympathetic towards David Cameron’s view – but no more than she was to all countries involved in the discussion.
“The discussions, both the bilateral discussions and the common discussion, have shown us that there is sufficient potential for an agreement,” she added.
French President Francois Hollande said the summit had made “progress”.
“There were no threats, no ultimatums,” he told reporters.
“Angela Merkel and I both agreed that it would be better to take some time out because we want there to be an agreement.”
Without naming the UK, he also said it was time the system of budget rebates was reconsidered.
“It is a paradox, because some net contributors [EU countries that pay in more than they get back] get some of the money back even though they are in a situation where they are wealthy enough for them not to get this money back,” Francois Hollande said.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite remarked that the atmosphere at the summit had been “surprisingly good because the divergence in opinions was so large that there was nothing to argue about”.
European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said the talks had failed owing to “important differences of opinion – especially in overall size of the budget”.
The Commission, which drafts EU laws, had originally called for a budget of 1.025 trillion euros.
Its position was supported by the European Parliament and many countries which are net beneficiaries, including Poland, Hungary and Spain.
While most EU members supported some increase in the budget, several, mostly the big net contributors, argued it was unacceptable at a time of austerity.
Germany, the UK, France and Italy are the biggest net contributors to the budget, which amounts to about 1% of the EU’s overall GDP.
Herman Van Rompuy’s revised budget would have softened the blow to the two main areas of spending: development in the EU’s poorer regions, and agriculture.
Instead, there would have been greater cuts to energy, transport, broadband and the EU’s foreign service.
His proposal, put to leaders on Thursday evening, would have made no change to the level of administrative costs – something the UK might have found unacceptable.
Speaking after the summit, Herman Van Rompuy said: “My feeling is that we can go further… It has to be balanced and well prepared, not in the mood of improvisation, because we are touching upon jobs, we are touching upon sensitive issues.”
Failure to agree on the budget by the end of next year would mean rolling over the 2013 budget into 2014 on a month-by-month basis, putting some long-term projects at risk.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she doubts an agreement can be reached on the European Union’s 2014-2020 budget at the summit taking place in Brussels.
Angela Merkel spoke after negotiations on the 2014-2020 budget were adjourned until midday on Friday.
The opening of the summit was delayed for three hours because of stark differences over the budget plans.
Most EU members support an increase in the budget but several countries say it is unacceptable at a time of austerity.
Earlier, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy circulated a revised proposal for the new budget and said he believed that a compromise was possible.
“I think we’re advancing a bit, but I doubt that we will reach a deal,” Angela Merkel said.
She has previously said that another summit may be necessary early next year if no deal can be reached now.
French President Francois Hollande also cautioned that an agreement might not be possible.
But he added: “We should not consider that if we don’t get there tomorrow or the day after, all would be lost.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she doubts an agreement can be reached on the European Union’s 2014-2020 budget at the summit taking place in Brussels
The 90-minute session late on Thursday followed a grueling day of face-to-face meetings between Herman Van Rompuy and each of the bloc’s leaders, followed by a flurry of backroom discussions.
Before suspending talks, leaders nominated Luxembourg’s Yves Mersch to the executive board of the European Central Bank.
The EU Commission, which drafts EU laws, has called for an increase of 4.8% on the 2007-2013 budget.
The UK is the most vocal of EU member states seeking cuts in the budget to match austerity programmes at home.
“No, I’m not happy at all,” Prime Minister David Cameron said about Herman Van Rompuy’s offer to cap spending at 973 billion euros ($1.2 trillion).
“Clearly, at a time when we’re making difficult decisions at home over public spending, it would be quite wrong – it is quite wrong – for there to be proposals for this increased extra spending in the EU.”
The statement called the rebate “fully justified”. The EU Commission and some EU governments want the rebate scrapped.
David Cameron has warned he may use his veto if other EU countries call for any rise in EU spending. The Netherlands and Sweden back his call for a freeze in spending, allowing for inflation.
Poland and its former-communist neighbors, which rely heavily on EU cash, want current spending maintained or raised.
Francois Hollande has also called for subsidies for farming and development programmes to be sustained for poorer nations.
France has traditionally been a big beneficiary of EU farm support.
Failure to agree on the budget would mean rolling over the 2013 budget into 2014 on a month-by-month basis, putting some long-term projects at risk.
Possible outcomes
A deal after intense negotiations which may continue into the weekend
Failure to agree and a follow-up budget summit
If no agreement is reached by the end of 2013, the 2013 budget ceilings will be rolled over into 2014 with a 2% inflation adjustment, amid uncertainty over long-term EU projects
EU leaders are to begin talks on the bloc’s 2014-2020 budget, with many of them calling for cuts in line with the savings they are making nationally.
Countries that rely heavily on EU funding, including Poland and its ex-communist neighbors, want current spending levels maintained or raised.
The UK and some other net contributors say cuts have to be made. At stake are 973 billion euros ($1,245 billion).
The bargaining in Brussels will continue on Friday, or even longer.
The draft budget – officially called the 2014-2020 Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) – was drawn up by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who made cuts to the European Commission’s original plan.
France objects to the proposed cuts in agriculture, while countries in Central and Eastern Europe oppose cuts to cohesion spending – that is, EU money that helps to improve infrastructure in poorer regions.
They are the biggest budget items. The Van Rompuy plan envisages 309.5 billion euros for cohesion (32% of total spending) and 364.5 billion euros for agriculture (37.5%).
The EU budget is a small fraction of what the 27 member states’ governments spend in total.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says another summit may be necessary early next year if no deal can be reached in Brussels now.
In a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday, the EU Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, complained: “No one is discussing the quality of investments, it’s all cut, cut, cut.”
Arriving in Brussels, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: “These are very important negotiations.
“Clearly at a time when we are making difficult decisions at home over public spending it would be quite wrong, it is quite wrong, for there to be proposals for this increased extra spending in the EU.”
David Cameron, who was due to meet Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy, has warned he may use his veto if other EU countries call for any rise in EU spending. The Netherlands and Sweden back his call for a freeze in spending, allowing for inflation.
Any of the 27 countries can veto a deal, and the European Parliament will also have to vote on the MFF even if a deal is reached.
Failure to agree would mean rolling over the 2013 budget into 2014 on a month-by-month basis, putting some long-term projects at risk.
If that were to happen it could leave David Cameron in a worse position, because the 2013 budget is bigger than the preceding years of the 2007-2013 MFF. So the UK government could end up with an EU budget higher than what it will accept now.
The European Commission says that the EU budget accounts for less than 2% of public spending EU-wide and that for every euro spent by the EU the national governments collectively spend 50 euros.
The UK has decided to join the US in warning Syria that the use or threat of chemical weapons would force them “to revisit their approach”.
The warning came after a telephone call between Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama.
David Cameron also spoke to French President Francois Hollande. The three discussed building support for the opposition.
Earlier, Chinese state media accused Barack Obama of using the chemical arms issue as an excuse for military intervention.
Also on Wednesday, fierce fighting raged in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and in Damascus, which residents said had witnessed the heaviest attack by government forces since the army re-asserted its control of the capital last month.
A Downing Street spokesman said the “appalling situation that continues in Syria” was the main focus of David Cameron’s conversations with Francois Hollande and Barack Obama.
The UK has decided to join the US in warning Syria that the use or threat of chemical weapons would force them "to revisit their approach"
David Cameron and Barack Obama both agreed “that the use – or threat – of chemical weapons was completely unacceptable and would force them to revisit their approach so far”, said the spokesman.
The comments echoed those by Barack Obama earlier in the week, when he said he would change his thinking on intervention if Syria used chemical weapons.
The two leaders, along with Francois Hollande, discussed “how to build on the support already given to the opposition” and “help a potential transitional Syrian government after the inevitable fall of [President Bashar al-] Assad”.
Barack Obama and David Cameron called for a “credible opposition” that would “show real unity of purpose and coherence in working towards transition”.
The three leaders also discussed the plight of Syrian refugees.
The spokesman said: “The prime minister emphasized the need to work with the UN and… that more should be done by the international community to channel humanitarian aid through the UN appeal.”
Earlier, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua accused Western powers of “digging deep for excuses to intervene militarily”.
In its commentary, Xinhua criticized Barack Obama’s earlier remarks as “dangerously irresponsible” and said they would aggravate the conflict, reducing the chances of a political settlement.
China insists a ceasefire and UN-led mediation remain the best ways to end Syria’s woes.
China and Russia have both blocked attempts to impose UN sanctions on Syria.
A Russian foreign ministry source told the Kommersant newspaper on Wednesday that Moscow believed Syria had no intention of using its chemical weapons and was able to safeguard them.
Fierce fighting continued across Syria on Wednesday.
An aerial bombardment preceded an assault by tanks on several areas of Damascus.
Activists said at least 37 people had been killed in the capital, in the areas of Kafar Soussa and Nahr Eishah.
A journalist working for the state-run Tishreen newspaper, Mosaab al-Odallah, was killed by the military during house-to-house searches in Nahr Eishah, activists and friends said.
Mosaab al-Odallah was said to be sympathetic to the opposition.
Reuters reporters said they had heard shells and gunfire every minute in the northern city of Aleppo.
Elsewhere, rebels and troops fought for control of a military base and airfield near the eastern town of Albu Kamal.
Activists said at least three people were killed in a helicopter bombardment of Qastoun, in Hama province.
Shelling was also reported in Deraa, and heavy fighting was reported in Deir Ezzor in the east.
The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 115 people, including 71 civilians, were killed across the country on Wednesday.
The figures cannot be independently verified.
Opposition activists say more than 20,000 people – mostly civilians – have died since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad began last year.
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
