Analysis: Outgoing German chancellor attended her first summit in 2005 with likes of Tony Blair and Jacques ChiracWhen Angela Merkel attended her first EU summit in December 2005,her fellow leaders included Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac. It was a different world from the one that exists now as she attends what could be her last.
Europe’s divisions over the Iraq war were still raw. Blair was running the European Council, as the British held the EUs rotating presidency. During the summit, and the UK brokered a deal on the EU budget that sever the British rebate to pay for enlargement into central and eastern Europe.
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Source: theguardian.com