While the financial issues received the most attention, these negotiations were much more about long-term reforms.
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But even if none of the talk leads to needed long-term reforms, a consolation prize may still be in store.
Buffeted by the international financial turmoil, Brazil, having doubled interest rates to bolster its overvalued currency, turned to long-term reforms to cut its budget deficit.
Spain and Italy are undertaking difficult, important long-term reforms, and it will be important that they continue to borrow at affordable rates as they undertake those reforms.
President Obama's budget also replaces the across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester with smarter ones, making long-term reforms, eliminating actual waste and programs that are no longer needed.
She has been harangued by world leaders, attacked in print and lampooned on magazine covers for saying "nein" to the pooling of euro-zone debt while focusing instead on long-term reforms.
But fellow Lib Dem MP Mr Webb told activists at their party conference what he called long-term reforms of the system must not be dropped in the rush to save money.
Those negotiations would include discretionary spending restraints, long-term entitlement reforms and "a process to get to pro-growth tax reform, " said Sen.
If Europeans are serious about putting their budgets in order, they will need to undertake long-term fiscal reforms.
The IMF and the financial markets would probably like to see a combination of all of these: long-term structural reforms to free up economies and put government spending on a more sustainable path, combined with some short-term relief on austerity and (with luck) easier monetary policy as well.
Some of the weakness in both Germany and its neighbours may reflect the short-term impact of government and corporate reforms, which may be boosting long-term competitiveness, but are also dampening wages and thus consumer spending.
In addition, addressing our long-term growth trends will require structural and curve-bending reforms that are politically less likely to be present in a smaller package.
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Even after the labour-market reforms, long-term unemployment remains well above the OECD average.
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Long-term strategy also underpins the organisational reforms which Mr Hague unveiled this week.
Athens, however, faces long-term challenges to push through unpopular reforms in the face of widespread unrest from the country's powerful labor unions and the general public.
All of this will help to stabilize the cost of living and day-to-day situation of Jordanians and will provide a foundation so that these economic reforms can move forward and long-term development can take place.
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But thanks to the Hartz reforms, the long-term unemployed are having their collars felt a little.
Nearly two months ago, Congress created a commission to recommend reforms to the current long-term care system.
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Japan's popular new prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, now offers hope that Japan will push ahead with the reforms needed to boost long-term growth.
Unemployment has fallen, but is still, at 9.7%, too high, especially as much of what remains is long-term and therefore harder to reduce without structural reforms.
On a long-term view, that is surely right: structural reforms are essential to improve economies' performance.
The movie argues for economic reforms to bring about a long-term solution to environmental concerns in Britain and Europe.
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Printing money is only likely to provide the basis for a long-term recovery if it is accompanied by the structural reforms which most economists now agree are urgently needed.
Consider some of the reforms Manila needs to undertake to boost long-term investment in key industries.
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Because our economic future depends on a financial system that encourages sound investments, honest dealings, and long-term growth, we've proposed the most ambitious financial reforms since the Great Depression.
The best way to help these states is for the folks in Congress to pass a farm bill that not only helps farmers and ranchers respond to natural disasters, but also makes some necessary reforms and gives farmers and ranchers some long-term certainty.
This is an approach that includes significant cuts to government programs that in a different fiscal environment the President might otherwise support, but it also includes asking -- important reforms in Medicare and Medicaid that over the long term will make those programs stronger.
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And in fact, it is through these reforms that we achieve the biggest reduction in our long-term deficits since the Balanced Budget Act of the 1990s.
Most economists think the best way to increase Europe's long-term economic growth is for its member governments to press on with their structural reforms, in areas such as pensions and labour-market flexibility.
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