And the timetable for expansion appears to have slipped, even as the prospect of EU membership for the Balkan states was being raised by politicians as a way of aiding stabilisation, security, democratisation and economic rehabilitation of the region.
The bill in question is not, of course, for the meal which the British Prime Minister will share with the German Chancellor but for the EU as a whole for six years - around a trillion euros give or take the odd cent.
As for its rhetoric, as the EU's rush to threaten Israel for allegedly killing a terrorist shows, it is cowardly, ineffectual and self-defeating.
The tough measures include a proposed ban on all tobacco advertising in newspapers and magazines across the European Union, as well as in those intended for the EU market.
Ironically, our eurosceptic prime minister sees the EU Commission as the best safeguard of Britain's interests - providing, that is, it sees its role as standing up for the EU 27 and not the eurozone 17.
Did the voters of old Europe turn against the grand political design for the EU, as manifested in the now-rejected constitution, because they recoiled from being governed by a superstate out of Brussels?
The prevailing wisdom in AK is that its activism in the region makes it more valuable to the EU. As for America, the hope is that because it needs Turkey in Iraq and Afghanistan, it will put up with a spot of bother.
Italians, unlike the British, French and, increasingly, the Germans, do not see the EU as an arena for the resolution of conflicting national interests.
Jenin is a rare place in the Arab world where ordinary people have a good word for Tony Blair, whose visits as envoy for the Quartet (the EU, Russia, the UN and the United States) put the city on the map.
Tony Blair, Britain's former prime minister, who claims credit for negotiating the deal as the envoy for the Quartet (the UN, the EU, the United States and Russia), says he will not get the small print for two weeks.
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As president, Mr Kuchma is still the main point of contact for foreign mediators, such as the EU's Javier Solana, and Mr Haran says he may be able to exploit this to his advantage.
The Belgians have long been known as keen integrationists and they see the move as a natural step in preparing the EU for enlargement.
The Czech Republic, as a member of the European Union, cannot unilaterally introduce visas for Canadian citizens as that would violate the EU's common visa policy.
The Cyprus setting for the gathering is especially notable as the island EU member state offers Europe the clearest shot at the offshore gas reserves.
One such difference was over the UK government's support for the EU - as a whole entity - to sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights.
There has been some perceived safe-haven demand for the greenback as the Euro currency has sunk on the bad economic data issued for the EU late this week, and on the worries about a currency war.
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The President's press secretary, Jay Carney, has said that he welcomed the Prime Minister's call for Britain to remain in the European Union, adding that the US believed the UK was stronger for being in the EU, and the EU was stronger for having the UK as a member.
The alleged fraud comes at a sensitive time for Poland, as an EU summit next week will focus on the 27-nation bloc's budget for 2014-2020.
Markets in Europe were broadly lower as earnings season begins and as the euro zone waits for progress on an EU bailout fund for Greece.
Further it turns out Hungary and the Czech Republic are raising concerns with the treaty as well specifically with the idea for tax harmonization among EU members.
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In February MEPs voted to increase the amount of money given by the EU to the bank as a guarantee for these loans.
Only a united Europe could stop Russia from cutting bilateral deals that are advantageous for individual countries but disastrous for the EU as a whole.
There is therefore a move for greater co-ordination between the European and US positions and may ensure a continuing role for the EU as a mediator in future negotiations.
As reports suggested that Duncan Smith's leadership manifesto would indicate a desire for closer links with the North American trade zone Nafta, Mr Clarke described his rival's European policy as "a euphemism for leaving the EU".
U.S. horses slaughtered in Mexico (as well as Canada) for export to the EU are slaughtered at EU-approved plants using the same captive-bolt process that was used in the U.S. when slaughter houses still killed horses here.
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They looked at cancer rates for the EU as a whole (27 member states as at 2007) and also in six individual countries - France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK - for all cancers, and, individually, for stomach, intestine, pancreas, lung, prostate, breast, uterus (including cervix) and leukaemias.
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One of the triumphs of the EU has been as a beacon for countries to throw off the horrors of their past.
Three new programmes have been approved by the European Commission as part of the EU's cohesion policy for 2007-2013.
For now, though, it looks as if the EU has once again decided to put off the hard decisions for another day.
The prime minister told MPs the UK had successfully rejected proposals by Europe's "big spenders" for an increase in the budget, as he fought alongside Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden for a reduction in the EU's "credit card limit".
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