Countries in the red,

lend and borrow to buy bread,

buy now, eat later

The European flag: "Extraordinary summit" At the bottom: Van Rompuy begins his latest composition

The leaders of Europe's 27 left Brussels on Friday, November 23, without having reached an agreement on the EU budget for the period 2014-2020. The cuts proposed by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, once a famed author of Japanese haiku poetry, were considered insufficient by the United Kingdom. Discussions are set to resume in early 2013.