VOA双语新闻 EU Sets Summit to Assess Alliance's Future

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced an informal summit of European Union leaders to consider the future direction of the troubled alliance.

英国首相布莱尔宣布，欧盟将在几个月内举行一次非正式的欧盟领导人峰会，探讨欧洲联盟的未来方向。目前该组织面临重重困难。

The Blair announcement came on the first day of Britain's six-month tenure¹ in control of the European Union's rotating presidency².

布莱尔是在英国担任欧盟轮值主席的第一天宣布这一消息的。欧盟轮值主席的每届任期是六个月。

The British presidency coincides with a crisis in confidence in the 25-nation alliance, after voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the EU constitution, and EU leaders failed to agree on a budget for coming years.

英国开始担任轮值主席正好是欧洲联盟面临信任危机的时刻。欧洲联盟共有25个成员国。不久前，法国和荷兰的选民拒绝接受欧盟宪法，欧盟领导人也未能对未来几年的预算达成一致意见。

Mr. Blair says EU leaders will gather in Britain in a few months for an informal summit on what he sees as the core issue facing the bloc³: how to sustain economic growth, while maintaining a strong social safety net.

布莱尔说，欧盟领导人将在几个月内在英国举行非正式的峰会，商讨在他看来是欧盟目前面临的核心问题，也就是如何在维护一个强大的社会安全网络的同时保证经济的增长。

"The most important thing is to try to get people to come together and debate ... how we make sense of the dilemma⁴ of Europe today, which is a desire to be a strong competitive economy and a desire to keep in place a strong social dimension, where we are looking after our citizens, making sure people are given proper protection when they are changing their jobs, how we are equipping our people on the basis of justice and fairness and solidarity⁵ to be able to face the challenges of today," he said.

布莱尔说：“最重要的是把大家聚集在一起辩论......我们如何理解欧洲现在的困境。我们需要一个富于竞争力的强大经济，需要建立一个强大的社会环境，这样我们才可以照顾我们的公民，以保证他们在换工作时能得到适当的保障。我们也要讨论如何在公正、公平及团结的基础上让我们的人民能够面对今日的挑战。”

The EU has been shaken by the rejection⁶ of the constitution by French and Dutch voters, followed by a bitter argument between Britain and France over the EU budget, which gives large subsidies⁷ to French farmers and an annual rebate⁸ to the British treasury⁹.

最近，欧盟由于法国和荷兰的选民拒绝欧盟宪法而受到震撼，接着英、法两国就欧盟的预算又展开了激烈的争论。该预算给予法国农民大量的补助，并给予英国国库年度退款。

There are also differences over future EU expansion. Britain supports EU membership for Turkey, but there is opposition¹⁰ within Germany and France. Negotiations¹¹ on Turkish membership are set to begin in October.

欧盟成员国对该组织的未来扩展也存在很多分歧。英国支持土耳其成为欧盟成员，但是德国和法国都表示反对。土耳其的入会问题定于10月份讨论。
 
 

1 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

5 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

6 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

7 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 rebate   

v./n.折扣，回扣，退款；vt.给...回扣，给...打折扣

参考例句：

• You can claim a rebate on your tax.你可以要求退回部分税款。
• Customers are to benefit from a rebate on their electricity bills.顾客将从他们的电费退费中得到实惠。

9 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。