European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said a deal on the EU budget for 2007-13 "is within reach". Speaking ahead of the EU summit on Thursday and Friday, Barroso called on leaders to "find the political will, the wisdom to get that agreement". Announcing that he has written again to British prime minister Tony Blair listing priorities for an agreement, he said: "A budget deal is urgent, (it) is necessary, and it is within reach." He said the UK, which holds the rotating EU presidency, must offer the bloc's new member states "a fairer deal" and agree to "a further and permanent change" in its own budget rebate in order to pay its share of the cost of enlargement. "I believe that without this we cannot have an agreement," he said. He urged the UK to heed the criticism of member states, who have rejected the latest budget proposal as unacceptable. "If the British presidency follows this line we will have an agreement," he said. He added: "Failure is not an option."