Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-12-16

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] PM meets European premiers on sidelines of EU summit

[01] PM meets European premiers on sidelines of EU summit

Karamanlis met Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday morning, Belgian premier Guy Verhofstadt at around midday and Dutch premier Jan Peter Balkenende on Thursday night after the Summit dinner.

Also on Friday morning, Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis had a meeting, requested by himself, with UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and a brief meeting with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.

European leaders spent most of Friday morning engaged in bilateral talks, while British Prime Minister Tony Blair was expected to make announcements at the summit dinner concerning the results of his contacts and determine, based on the views that were expressed, when and if he will present a new proposal for the EU budget in 2007-2013.

Diplomatic sources, meanwhile, report a marginal improvement in the climate compared with last June and note that all sides seem to be seeking agreement, though no one can predict the outcome since the national positions seem entrenched and no one has shown any desire to change.

Thorny issues during the negotiations, according to the same sources, are the British rebate and the revision of Common Agricultural Policy.

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