VOA慢速英语2013 EU Agrees to $1.3 Trillion Budget

 

EU Agrees to $1.3 Trillion Budget

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report in Special English.

European Union countries have struggled to find common ground as they worked out a budget agreement in Belgium this month. European leaders finally had success last week. They agreed on the European Union’s multiannual financial framework, or MMF, for the period from 2014 to 2020.

The MMF sets the EU’s total spending at $1.3 trillion. That represents one percent of the total income of EU members. Members agreed to reduce total spending by over three percent for the period. This is the first time spending cuts have been made.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy spoke¹ after the agreement was announced. He said the compromise budget may not be perfect. But he said it should help all EU members.

“Our support to the most vulnerable people remains² intact, so does our external action funding even despite the crisis. This budget will allow Europe to keep engaging on vital global issues such as climate change, nuclear safety and development aid.”

German Chancellor³ Angela Merkel praised the long-term spending plan. She said the agreement makes policy more predictable and enables members to act in the interest of Europe.

Some EU leaders have been calling for greater spending controls in their home countries. They wanted the EU to show that it is willing to cut costs. 

British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the agreement. Before the two-day meeting, he had threatened to veto the budget if there were no steps toward cutting spending.

“So I think the British public can be proud that we have cut the seven-year credit card limit for the European Union for the first time ever. And as a result the EU’s seven-year budget will cost less than one percent of Europe’s gross national income. That is also for the first time ever.”

The European parliament still must approve the measure. But some parliament members say it fails to deal with problems like the sharp wealth differences between rich and poor. Guy Verhofstadt from Belgium is a member of the European parliament. He does not think the measure will pass.

“I don't think that we shall have a majority in the parliament to approve this proposal…we are creating a big deficit⁴ of more than 50 billion euros and that is not acceptable.”

If approved, the measure will affect 28 European Union countries. The EU says Croatia is expected to join the group in July.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。