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EU Holding First Post-Brexit Summit

Lisa Bryant

   PARIS - The European Union's first post-Brexit summit Thursday in
   Brussels promises to be a contentious one. The subject is money -- how
   to fill a nearly $65 billion budget gap left by Britain's departure
   from the bloc.

   The EU's 27 remaining members came together during Brexit
   negotiations,butthat may not be the case in this new post-Brexit
   reality,with the departure of one of the EU's biggest contributors.

   'The Brexit gap'

   "What we call the Brexit gap -- that's estimated to be around 60
   billion over seven years. So that leaves a hole of approximately 10
   billion every year," said Marta Pilati, a policy analyst forthe
   European Policy Center, a Brussels research group.

   "One of the most contentiousissues is that as a consequence of Brexit,
   the budget should be smaller," Pilati said,"or whether it should be
   maintained at the same level and thus allow more funding for the 27
   member states."

   Draft proposals are also getting pushback from richer EU countries,
   which argue they will shoulder too much of the financial burden.
   Meanwhile, poorer member states,many from central and eastern Europe,
   worry they will lose key development funds.

   In France, the EU's biggest agricultural producer, farmers said they
   were worried about cuts to the bloc's Common Agricultural Policy, the
   biggest budget item.

   Climate change funding?

   And some new areas of EU emphasis, including defense, research and
   innovation, and Europe's coming "Green Deal" to fight climate change,
   could face less funding than expected.

   "Because of course it's easier to cut the budget of things that don't
   exist yet, rather than cut the budget of programs that have been around
   for a very long time, and over which member states have very strong
   interests," Pilati said.

   Some observers like Pilati believe this one-day summit may stretch into
   two days and possibly more, as countries try to resolve their
   differences.

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