Brussels, 14/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - The financial perspectives 2007-2013 will very much dominate the meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the European Union, in Brussels on 15 and 16 December- a likelihood which is also reflected in the way in which the President in exercise of the European Council, Tony Blair, intends to organise the work. The European Council will start at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening with the traditional meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, followed by a first working session on the draft conclusions covering all the other subjects on the agenda of the summit: enlargement (particularly the candidate country status for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: see other article), the future of Europe, Africa, terrorism, rural development, migration, climate change, economic growth and employment- including the problem of reduced rates of VAT on certain services: see other article), and external relations. During this first working session, the President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the High Representative of the EU for CFSP, Javier Solana, will be invited to report back on the follow-up to discussions which took place at the informal summit of Hampton Court on 27 October.
In his letter of invitation to his colleagues, Tony Blair explains that Thursday evening's dinner will be entirely given over to the financial perspectives 2007-2013. At a separate dinner taking place at the same time, the Foreign Affairs Ministers will discuss the Middle East, on which a declaration will be annexed to the conclusions of the summit, Mr Blair has announced.
Friday's daytime sessions will also be entirely devoted to the financial perspectives, "with the objective of reaching a political agreement", writes Mr Blair. The final conclusions, even on the other subjects, will not be approved until all the discussions, including those on the budget, are concluded, adds Mr Blair.