Bulgaria PM: I Have Never Seen EU Leaders So Dejected

Bulgaria in EU | June 17, 2010, Thursday // 20:32|  views

"It is clear for everyone that pensions should go down, the retirement age should go up and this inevitably reflects in the mood of the meeting,” Boyko Borisov told Bulgarian journalists in the Belgian capital. Photo by BGNES

"This is the first time that I see all EU leaders so dejected," Bulgaria’s prime minister commented after EU summit talks in Brussels, dominated by the debt burden weighing on many member states.”

“Each and every one of them records sharp fall in their popularity, there are strikes, rallies everywhere. It is clear for everyone that pensions should go down, the retirement age should go up and this inevitably reflects in the mood of the meeting,” Boyko Borisov told Bulgarian journalists in the Belgian capital.

The EU leaders agreed on tighter collective supervision of individual member countries' budgets. In addition, the rules governing debt levels among the 16 eurozone countries will be strengthened.

The draft summit document mentions EU member states presenting their budgetary plans to the European Commission each spring, "taking account of national budgetary procedures", BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt reports.

The UK has made it clear that its budget must go before the British parliament before being presented to EU officials for scrutiny.

However, the UK's pre-budget report is already fed into EU finance ministers' discussions before the full budget appears in April, a UK diplomat told the BBC.

The EU leaders also discussed a new 10-year strategy for jobs and growth, drafted by the Commission, called "Europe 2020".

It sets out a range of targets for employment, training and investment. Spending on research and development would reach 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) under the plan.

The leaders also agreed on the need for a bank levy, to ensure that any future bail-out is funded mainly by banks, rather than taxpayers.

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Tags: Boyko Borisov, EU, EU Summit, bank levy, Spain, Budget 2010

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