French President François Hollande said that there is still time to reach an agreement on the European budget before the European Union (EU) summit begins next Thursday.

The European Council is scheduled to meet on February 7th and 8th to discuss the 2014-2020 budget, along with EU trade and foreign affairs.

"We will do everything to reach an agreement at the next summit, but the conditions are not in place yet," Hollande said yesterday after a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, adding that there was still time to hammer out details.

For his part, Monti made comments along the same lines as those mentioned after his meeting last week with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Monti once again expressed his view that Italy's contribution was disproportionate to its real wealth.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will meet with Merkel today to discuss items on the EU budget agenda, while Hollande is scheduled to address the European Parliament tomorrow.

JM

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