VOA慢速英語:EU Agrees to 1.3 Trillion Budget

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report in Special English.

這里是美國之音慢速英語經濟報道。

European Union countries have struggled to find common ground as they worked out a budget agreement in Belgium this month. European leaders finally had success last week. They agreed on the European Union's multiannual financial framework, or MMF, for the period from 2014 to 2020.

歐盟國家一直在努力尋找共同點。本月，他們在比利時達成了一項預算協(xié)議。上周，歐盟領導人終于取得了成功。他們在歐盟2014年到2020年期間的多年度金融框架(簡稱MMF)上取得了一致。

The MMF sets the EU's total spending at $1.3 trillion. That represents one percent of the total income of EU members. Members agreed to reduce total spending by over three percent for the period. This is the first time spending cuts have been made.

MMF設定歐盟總支出為1.3萬億美元，這一數(shù)字代表著歐盟成員國總收入的1%。各成員國同意在此期間，把總支出降低3%以上。這是歐盟成員國首次作出削減開支的決定。

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy spoke after the agreement was announced. He said the compromise budget may not be perfect. But he said it should help all EU members.

歐洲理事會主席范龍佩在協(xié)議公布后發(fā)表了講話。他說，這項妥協(xié)預算可能并不完美，但它應該會對所有歐盟成員國有所幫助。

"Our support to the most vulnerable people remains intact, so does our external action funding even despite the crisis. This budget will allow Europe to keep engaging on vital global issues such as climate change, nuclear safety and development aid."

他說，“我們對弱勢群體的支持仍然保持不變，這還包括我們的對外行動撥款，哪怕是在經濟危機中。這項預算方案將會使歐盟繼續(xù)介入一些關鍵的全球性問題，如氣候變化、核安全以及發(fā)展援助。”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised the long-term spending plan. She said the agreement makes policy more predictable and enables members to act in the interest of Europe.

德國總理默克爾稱贊了這一長期支出計劃。她表示，該協(xié)議使得政策更具可預測性，成員國也得以在歐洲利益上采取行動。

Some EU leaders have been calling for greater spending controls in their home countries. They wanted the EU to show that it is willing to cut costs.

一些歐盟領導人一直呼吁在本國進行更大規(guī)模的支出控制。他們希望歐盟表明其削減支出的意愿。

British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the agreement. Before the two-day meeting, he had threatened to veto the budget if there were no steps toward cutting spending.

英國首相卡梅倫對該協(xié)議表示了歡迎。在這次為期兩天的會議之前，他曾威脅如果沒有邁出削減支出的步伐，他就要投票否決這一預算方案。

"So I think the British public can be proud that we have cut the seven-year credit card limit for the European Union for the first time ever. And as a result the EU's seven-year budget will cost less than one percent of Europe's gross national income. That is also for the first time ever."

他說，“所以我認為，英國公眾可以為此自豪，我們有史以來第一次削減了歐盟7年的信貸限額，結果歐盟7年的預算只會花費歐盟總國民收入的1%不到，這也是有史以來的第一次。

The European parliament still must approve the measure. But some parliament members say it fails to deal with problems like the sharp wealth differences between rich and poor. Guy Verhofstadt from Belgium is a member of the European parliament. He does not think the measure will pass.

該措施還必須經過歐洲議會批準。但一些議員表示，該協(xié)議未能處理一些問題，象貧富之間的巨大財富差距。來自比利時的Guy Verhofstadt是歐盟議會的議員。他認為該措施無法通過。

"I don't think that we shall have a majority in the parliament to approve this proposal...we are creating a big deficit of more than 50 billion euros and that is not acceptable."

“我認為該提案在議會中不會得到絕大多數(shù)同意。我們正在創(chuàng)造一個超過500億歐元的巨大赤字，這是不能接受的。”

If approved, the measure will affect 28 European Union countries. The EU says Croatia is expected to join the group in July.

如果該措施獲得通過將影響到28個歐盟國家。歐盟表示，克羅地亞有望于今年7月加入歐盟。