EU to consider powers to amend national budgets

European Union leaders are to discuss giving the bloc powers to amend the budgets of countries not keeping to EU fiscal rules at their summit later this week, Tuesday's Financial Times reported. In a draft report seen by the paper, the European Commission would be able to rewrite budgets, and the recommendations would then be put to a vote of all other EU countries. Its authors are Herman Van Rompuy, the European Council president; Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission president; Mario Draghi, European Central Bank chief; and Jean-Claude Juncker, chair of the eurozone finance ministers. They have all long called for deeper European fiscal union and hope tighter EU control of budgets will encourage Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel to consider pooling eurozone debts and resources. French President Francois Hollande will make a final push Wednesday to find common ground with Merkel as the two meet on the eve of the crucial summit on the eurozone debt crisis. While the German leader has stressed the need for sticking to austerity measures to beat the eurozone debt crisis, Hollande has argued the need to refocus eurozone policy on measures to revive growth and mutualise debt. The heads of Europe's two biggest economies will meet for a working dinner before joining the bloc's other leaders in Brussels for a two-day summit starting Thursday.