(23 Nov 2012) SHOTLIST
1. Arrival of British Prime Minister David Cameron
2. SOUNDBITE (English) David Cameron, British Prime Minister:
"Well, I don't think there has been enough progress so far. I mean, there is really a problem in terms there hasn't been the progress in cutting back proposals for additional spending. It isn't the time for tinkering, it isn't the time for moving money from one part of the budget to another. You know, we need unaffordable spending cut. That's what happening at home, that's what needs to happen here."
3. Medium of cameramen and journalist
4. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti arriving
5. Police uniform
6. French President Francois Hollande arriving
STORYLINE
The prospect of failure hangs over a European Union leaders' summit intended to lay out the 27-country bloc's long-term spending plans.
While heavyweights like Britain and France are pulling in opposite directions, smaller members are threatening to veto a deal to make themselves heard.
Negotiators will try to navigate the myriad demands on the second day of the meeting Friday. A tense first session left many observers predicting leaders will need more time to bridge their differences over the bloc's spending priorities for the years to come.
The EU budget primarily funds programmes to help farming and spur growth in the bloc's less developed countries. In financial terms, it amounts to only about 1 percent of the EU's gross domestic product, but the real significance of the budget is that it lays bare the balance of power between the bloc's members.
The bloc is divided along several lines. The most notable is between richer countries that want to reduce their contributions to the common budget at a time of economic malaise, and poorer ones that rely on EU money for development aid and economic investment.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is the most vocal leader demanding restraint, while French President Francois Hollande wants the budget to keep paying subsidies for farming and development programs for poorer nations.
But Van Rompuy's revised proposal late on Thursday did not yield further to Cameron's demands for cuts, keeping to the same total.
Cameron said Friday it was unreasonable to see an increase in the bloc's spending plan for 2014-2020 at a time when many member states are cutting budgets at home.
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