The European Commission today urged European Union governments to reach a deal on a long-term budget quickly to show the 25-nation bloc is still working despite last week's failed summit.
"We need an agreement very quickly on a long term budget to restore trust in Europe and Europe's ability to act," a commission spokeswoman said.
The Brussels summit dissolved into recriminations on Friday after member states failed to agree on a 2007-2013 budget. They also put ratification of the proposed EU constitution on hold after French and Dutch voters rejected it in referendums.
The EU executive had said a quick budget deal would help restore the bloc's credibility, avert disruption to its financial planning and ensure that badly needed aid funds would flow to new member states from ex-communist eastern Europe.
But with Britain, which led an assault on the EU budget at the summit, taking over the presidency of the bloc from Luxembourg for the second half of 2005, there seemed little chance of agreement until next year, diplomats said.
Budget talks collapsed after British Prime Minister Tony Blair rejected a series of proposals to cap Britain's rebate from EU coffers, won in 1984 by Margaret Thatcher.
He insisted any cut must be linked to reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
French President Jacques Chirac refused to commit himself to any overhaul of the EU's generous farm subsidy system, of which France is the major beneficiary.
Mr Blair may give clues to how determined he is to strike a budget deal this year when he presents the priorities of his EU presidency to the European Parliament on Thursday.